


Mara, Part One: Canon Mentions and Appearances

by dire_quail



Series: An Extremely Slanted Fan Theory About Mara (And A Few Transcriptions To Back It Up) [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Gen, Mara Meta, Meta, Research, transcript
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26771779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dire_quail/pseuds/dire_quail
Summary: So I had this idea for a meta but I need to compare the text of some things... so naturally I'm going to transcribe every mention or appearance Mara makes (and some things I wanted for extra Mara context and worldbuilding), since the only episodes that get transcribed are Catradora-heavy ones.What to expect: Improperly formatted transcripts with times only adjusted to beginnings of scenes. May read more like a script at times. Might be entirely inappropriate to call a "transcript". But god damn, I transcribed every word.Episodes are by chapter. With the exception of "Hero", only the relevant scenes (not entire episodes) are transcribed. All mistakes are mine. Please don't blame anyone else, including the people who told me this was a good idea. I had many chances to turn back, and did not.All timestamps are in NFT (Netflix Time).
Series: An Extremely Slanted Fan Theory About Mara (And A Few Transcriptions To Back It Up) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975690
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. S01E03: "Razz"

**Author's Note:**

> Next time I'm using Python to transcribe this. At least then I'd have someone else to blame for the mistakes. 
> 
> Any emphases mine, based on what I saw onscreen.

**(08:33)** \- _[Adora is hiding in the Woods from the Bright Moon villagers who attacked her after they realized she was wearing a Horde uniform.]_

**Adora:** Stupid. You just had to go out there, even after Bow warned you about the pitchforks and torches. _[the Sword’s runestone pulses lightly in her hands. Adora glares at it]_ What do you want from me now? Haven’t I done enough for you? _[holds up the Sword]_ “For the Honor of Grayskull”! _[Nothing. Adora sighs.]_ What is wrong with you? _[metal clangs nearby]_ Horsey? Is that you? 

_[Adora steps into a clearing with a house in it, that appears to be made out of… roots? As she watches, an old lady emerges and begins to sweep at the ground]_

**Madame Razz:** Did you hear something? Yes, I did too. Who’s there?!

**Adora:** I, uh, didn’t mean to intrude, um— But, have you seen a flying horse around here?

**Razz:** Oh, Mara, dearie! Is that you? About time you got here! No time to waste! Let’s get going. _[goes back inside]_

**Adora:** Um— You were waiting for me?

**Razz:** _[laughs]_ We made plans to go berry-picking today!

**Adora:** Look, I’m sorry, but I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I don’t know who you are.

**Razz:** No… You don’t know Madame Razz, do you? You’re not quite the same. And this is the wrong time for my Mara, isn’t it? But now you’ve got the Sword instead. 

**Adora:** Wait, what??

**Razz:** _[slides a basket onto Adora’s sword]_ Ah, well, never mind. You’re here and there’s still berries to be picked.

* * *

**(10:10)** \- _[Out. Adora is following Razz through the woods.]_

**Adora:** Hey, uh, you said something about the Sword? Have you seen it before? 

**Razz:** _[laughs]_ Don’t ask such silly questions, Mara. You know you bring that sword around here all the time. 

**Adora:** I’m not— Okay. How long have you been living out here in the woods, alone? 

**Razz:** Alone? Me?? Oh, no, I’m not alone. I’ve got Broom here, and my friend Loo-Kee too—but he’s always hiding. [giggles]

**Adora:** _[laughing along]_ Oh, good. She’s got imaginary friends. _[they emerge into a clearing, and she stops. It’s the castle she saw when she touched the Sword. But it’s a ruin now, dull and dingy. The only building not overtaken by the forest is the central spire.]_

**Adora:** Whoa.

**Razz:** Here we are!

**Adora:** I think I’ve seen a place like this before. This is a First Ones ruin, isn’t it?

**Razz** : And the best place to pick fresh berries! _[somehow, she’s halfway up the side of the big spire already.]_

**Adora:** Hey— Be careful up there! That thing’s not safe! 

_[Razz ignores her and continues climbing. Lights glow behind her as she move, but nothing bad happens. Until, that is, she puts her hand on a First Ones glyph that lights up, and keeps her hand there to lever herself up—and then seconds later, a bright light ignites at the top of the ruin, and a huge surge of some kind of energy stuns her, and she falls. Adora leaps and catches her mid-air, using her own body to cushion their landing.]_

_[the light at the top of the ruin sends a layer of greenish energy down over everything—some kind of hologram? a security sensor? It limns the structures there, even the overgrown and ruined ones, showing the place as it once was.]_

**Razz:** Oh, dearie me, that was quite a tumble, eh? 

_[the two of them are distracted by another gleam of light from the top of the ruin. The sky above them has turned purple with some kind of recording—shapes whirl through it, slowing, slowing—resolving into—]_

**Adora:** Stars?

**Razz:** Oh, we used to come here to look at the stars. Do you remember, Mara? They’re all gone now. What happened to the stars?

**Adora:** I’ve seen them before. I know all of this somehow. 

_[Montage: Light Hope’s face, Etheria’s moons, Bright Moon, a ship crashing in the desert, the Crystal Castle whole and unharmed, a portal, a baby laughing and a shot through a window looking down on a planet that looks like Etheria from what’s presumably a moon, with another moon visible, and a comet. When her vision clears, Razz is staring at her, eating a handful of berries she picked.]_

**Adora:** What is this? What’s happening to me?

**Razz:** _[continues eating berries]_

**Adora:** Look, I know you brought me here for a reason. If you know something about the Sword, about me, you need to tell me!

**Razz:** I brought you here to pick berries, and your basket’s still empty! So come on, silly.

* * *

**(13:48)**

**Adora:** Wait! Will you slow down?

**Razz:** What’s that dearie? I don’t have my glasses, you’ll have to speak up. _[fiddling with her glasses]_

**Adora:** I know you can hear me. I just—I need you to tell me what to do.

**Razz:** How should Madame Razz know what you’re supposed to do?

**Adora:** Look, I left my whole life behind looking for answers about where I came from and who I’m supposed to be. The Rebellion hates me and I can’t go back to the Horde, and I want to do the right thing, but I don’t know what that is.

**Razz:** _[smacks the Sword with her broom, indicating Adora should stfu and pay attention to what’s in front of her—which is a section of the Whispering Woods that’s been cleared of trees, with Horde tanks sitting unoccupied, presumably because the soldiers manning them are all back at camp. They stand completely silent for a few moments.]_

**Razz:** It’s the same old story, dearie. Wicked people destroy what they cannot control.

**Adora:** They can’t just _do_ this.

**Razz:** Once, the princesses would have protected us. But these days, they stay in their castles, protecting their own lands. Meanwhile, the Horde creeps ever closer.

**Razz:** You’re very like my Mara, you know? Brave, loyal, but afraid.

**Adora:** I’m not afraid. 

**Razz:** Dearie. You ran into the woods and asked the first old lady you could find what you should do. No one is going to make this easy for you, dearie. Stop waiting for someone to tell you what the right thing to do is. You’re a smart girl. What do you think?

**Adora:** I think… this is wrong.


	2. S01E12: "Light Hope"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Other things I specifically noted here: 
> 
> \- When Light Hope glitches (roughly).  
> \- I included the interwoven dialogue from the sequence explaining the Black Garnet hack/balancing the planet because it's really fascinating worldbuilding stuff

**(06:50)**

**Adora:** I don’t wanna be rude, but, um… who are you?

**Light Hope:** I am Light Hope, Etheria’s facilitator. I was created by the “First Ones”, as you call them. 

**Adora:** Quick follow-up: Who are the First Ones?

**LH:** The First Ones were explorers who journeyed from beyond the stars to settle Etheria. They built this place for you; the Crystal Castle. _[disappears and materializes next to Adora, startling her badly]_ Adora, I have waited so long for you. And now the time has come to show you your destiny. 

**Adora:** Great, because I actually had a questio—

**Light Hope:** You are She-Ra, Etheria’s champion, appointed by the First Ones to protect and unite our planet. There have been many before you. But the line was broken. You are the first She-Ra in a thousand years.

* * *

**(07:40)**

**Entrapta:** Behold Etheria. The First Ones didn’t just settle on the surface of Etheria. Their technology runs throughout the planet’s core. This whole planet, it’s… it’s all First Ones’ tech.

* * *

**(07:53)**

**Light Hope:** Everything on Etheria is connected. The princesses are granted power over the elements through their runestones. As She-Ra, it is your duty to bring the princesses together. Only then can balance be restored to Etheria. 

**Adora:** That sounds great. But the thing is—

**Light Hope:** You are correct. It _is_ great.

* * *

**(08:16)**

**Catra:** _[re: the lights on the surface of Entrapta’s ad-hoc model of Etheria]_ And what are these supposed to be?

**Entrapta:** Runestones. From the data I’ve managed to extract, they regulate the planet through the princesses. They’re directly connected to each other and to the planet’s power grid in a delicate balance. 

**Catra:** Which means? 

**Entrapta:** Which means they’re our best access point to _hack the planet_.

* * *

**(08:40)**

**Light Hope:** When the princesses and their elements are in balance, Etheria functions as it should. But the Horde is destroying us in their quest for power. There is no predicting what they will do next.

* * *

**(09:02)**

**Catra:** Hack the planet??

**Entrapta:** Hypothetically. But it’s not so simple. There’s only a handful of runestones in the whole world. 

**Scorpia:** Runestones? You mean like the Black Garnet? ‘Cause-- _[laughs]_ \--We have the Black Garnet.

**Entrapta:** The Black Garnet? You have a runestone? The Fright Zone has a runestone?

**Scorpia:** Uh, duh, it was my family’s. But when the Horde landed, we gave it to Hordak, who then gave it to Shadow Weaver, who—you know, you tell a friend, he tells a friend, it’s kinda one of those things.

**Entrapta:** Where is it? Can I see it, can I touch it???

**Catra:** Okay, calm down! What exactly are you planning on doing to the Black Garnet? 

**Entrapta:** If we hack the runestone grid, we could boost the Garnet’s power and use it for, well, anything! As a power source, as a—

**Catra:** As a weapon?

**Entrapta:** Potentially! But if it’s like my other experiments, the results will be explosive. 

**Scorpia:** I don’t think Shadow Weaver will like that

**Catra:** Scorpia’s right. Shadow Weaver won’t like it. So, I will absolutely get you the Black Garnet. Leave it all to me.

* * *

**(10:05)**

**Adora:** This is all super great information, um, and I can’t wait to hear more. Just one thing, though—

**Light Hope:** Is there something you do not understand? I can start again from the beginning if you would like. _[disappears]_

**Light Hope:** _[rematerializes in her starting position]_ I am Light Hope, Etheria’s facilitator--

**Adora:** No, no, I got it.

**Light Hope:** Have I mentioned you are chosen?

**Adora:** Can we skip to the part about my powers? I need to learn how to heal my friend. 

**Light Hope:** Your… friend. _(Note: Notably, Light Hope notably does_ not _glitch here.)_

**Adora:** Yes. Shadow Weaver did something to Glimmer and took her powers away. I need to figure out how to heal her. 

**Light Hope:** Her connection to her Runestone was disrupted. 

**Adora:** Can I fix it? 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches]_ You will be able to do many incredible things with training. 

**Adora:** Great! So, uh, how long with this training take? Like a day or—? 

**Light Hope:** _Years._

**Adora:** _Years?_ Glimmer doesn’t have years. She’s hurt because of me. I messed up. I got Glimmer and Bow captured, and Entrapta— It’s my fault. I have to fix it. 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches, tilts head]_ Yes. Your mission is to fix the planet. 

**Adora:** My _mission_ is to help my friends. _[Light Hope glitches]_ That’s why I came here. 

**Light Hope:** You are She-Ra. Your purpose is to protect all of Etheria. You cannot help only your friends. 

**Adora:** Why can’t I do both? 

**Light Hope:** Adora, you do not yet realize the power you have. You are distracted by your attachments. There was one before you who could not let go. _[glitches]_ Her name was Mara. 

**Adora:** Mara? Madame Razz’s Mara? What happened to her? 

**Light Hope:** Mara was the last She-Ra before you. She struggled with a power that she could not control, until it became too much for her mind. 

**Adora:** She snapped? 

**Light Hope:** She was compromised. She gave in to fear and faulty reasoning. Her desperate actions led to devastation. Mara stranded us in the empty dimension of Despondos. She broke the She-Ra line. She nearly destroyed us. _[glitches & turns to face Adora]_ Adora, I have waited here for a thousand years alone. I did not know if I would ever see another She-Ra. _[glitches]_ You must stay here and train. Learn to be the She-Ra that Mara could not be. 

**Adora:** I will! I’ll do whatever you want! I’ll come back, and train, and learn about everything. But I have to heal Glimmer first. I can save the planet and save her. _[Light Hope begins to manifest Adora’s memories of her friends hurt and in pain—Bow, Glimmer, Catra, Entrapta]_

**Light Hope:** You feel guilt at these memories. It is as you said. Your friends are endangered by your presence. It is better to let go now. 

**Adora:** But I can’t just leave my friends.

* * *

**(19:10)**

**Light Hope:** _[glitching and warping, then disappearing]_ The Horde is hurting us. Balance Etheria.

**Adora:** Light Hope? Light Hope, come back! I… I don’t know what to do!

**Swift Wind:** _[faintly]_ Adora… Adora!

**Adora:** Our horse? 

**SW:** Once again, I’m no one’s horse. I’m Swift Wind!

**Adora:** You can talk?!

**SW:** _Yes_ , I can talk. 

**Adora:** You can TALK?!

**SW:** I can see now why you’re friends with Bow and Glimmer. They need your help. Which is why I’m here! So… Which way’s the exit?

**Adora:** I don’t know! Light Hope disappeared and I… I don’t know if I should go back. 

**SW:** What do you mean?

**Adora:** Light Hope said if I leave here, I’ll make things worse. She’s right! Everyone will be better off if I just stay far away from them. It’s… for the greater good. 

**SW:** Well that’s just stupid. 

**Adora:** What?? No it’s not. 

**SW:** Adora, I’ve had the ability to form complex thought for like… a week. And even I know you can’t help anyone by hiding. Where would all the horses I freed be if I just sat in a pasture and moped?

**Adora:** _[scoffs]_ I’m not moping. 

**SW:** _[snorts]_

**Adora:** I’m _not_. I hurt people! I ruined my friends’ lives!

**SW:** If that’s true, then why are Bow and Glimmer here trying to rescue you? Bow and Glimmer are risking their lives. Not because you’re She-Ra, but because you’re their friend. What good is all your power if you don’t use it to help the people that you love? 

**Adora:** I’m not Mara. I’m not the She-Ra’s of the past. I didn’t do this to fulfill some destiny. I became She-Ra to help others. My attachments, my friends, are a part of who I am. 

**SW:** So, are you staying or going?

**Adora:** Let’s go.


	3. S02E02: "Ties That Bind"

**(01:56)** \- _[At the Crystal Castle. Adora is destroying pretend bots.]_

**Adora:** Whew! Getting pretty good, huh? 

**Light Hope:** You have shown improvement. But your attack would have been 57% more effective with help from your steed. It is time to bring Swift Wind into your training. 

**Adora:** Uh, shouldn’t I work on mastering my own abilities first? 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches]_ As She-Ra, your sacred connection with your steed is as important as any of your physical abilities. He is a part of you. Your destinies are intertwined.

**Swift Wind:** They sure are! _[sticks his head through Light Hope’s]_ Hi Adora, I’ve been here awhile. But there wasn’t a good moment to make my grand entrance. Until now! 

**Light Hope:** I requested his presence. It is time for the two of you to forge your— _[freezes]_

* * *

**(03:57)**

**Adora:** Uh, Light Hope?

**Swift Wind:** Did I break her? Was it when I went through her head?

**Light Hope:** _[unfreezes]_ —The time has come for the two of you to forge your sacred bond. I— _[pauses]_ Is something wrong?

**Swift Wind:** Well yeah, you kinda froze their for a second. 

**Adora:** Are you okay?

**Light Hope:** Forgive me. My system is overloading. I may have to delay today’s training so that I can rest. 

**Adora:** Is there anything I can do to help? 

**Light Hope:** Perhaps. This is the Watchtower. Once, it allowed me to access my planetary mainframe. But it was destroyed by Mara when she lost control and attacked Etheria. I have been functioning at only a fraction of my power ever since. If you can repair the Watchtower, then my capabilities will improve, and training can commence. 

**Adora:** Fix the Watchtower, got it. 

**Light Hope:** Only then— _[freezes again]_

**Adora:** Okay, we’re just— we’re just gonna go…

* * *

**(07:19)** \- _[At the Watchtower site]_

**Swift Wind:** _[singing]_ Adora and Swift Wind, on an adventure, fixing a thing that Mara broke went she went nuts—

**Adora:** _Swift Wind._ Could you not do that? 

**SW:** Just keeping us entertained while we look for this Watchtower. Any sign of it yet? 

**Adora:** There’s nothing here but grass. Maybe Light Hope got the location wrong. 

**SW:** I don’t think she did. I definitely sense something here, something ancient and magical. 

**Adora:** Where? 

**SW:** I’m not sure. Perhaps if we were to combine our efforts, my intuitive powers might increase. 

**Adora:** No, that’s okay. I just have to keep looking. It’s gotta be here somewhere. 

**SW:** I could be wrong, but I’m sensing something’s bothering you. 

**Adora:** I’m just really focused on fixing Light Hope. Like you should be. 

**SW:** No, you’re troubled about something else. As your magnificent steed, I am attuned to your emotions. 

**Adora:** Okay, can you stay out of my head?

**SW:** I’m not in your head. You’re just very bad at hiding your feelings. Is it about me. 

**Adora:** I’m _fine_. And no, it’s not about you. 

**SW:** Is it Bow? Glimmer? Catra? The Horde? The crushing weight of your new responsibilities as the savior of Etheria? 

**Adora:** Stop! I’m fine! I promise! Just! Let me think!

**SW:** Okay. Well, I’m gonna go do a few loop-de-loops. Whoo! 

**Adora:** … Hey Swift Wind?

**SW:** What’s up?

**Adora:** I think I found the Watchtower.

* * *

**(09:57)**

**SW:** Wow, Mara really did a number on this place. 

**Adora:** Let’s put it back together. For the Honor of Grayskull!

_[disappointment ensues]_

**SW:** _[singing]_ She-Ra and Swift Wind, forging a sacred bond, fixing a magic tower with a magical sword

**(12:51)** \- _[Adora is standing on the ground now, holding the Sword, trying to meditate]_

**SW:** TRY CONCENTRATING! Focus the She-Ra. She-Ra…

**Adora:** I can’t concentrate when you’re distracting me! Ugh, this worked in Salineas. 

**SW:** Heyyy you know what might help? Loop-de-loops! With me! Get on my back. 

**Adora:** Swift Wind, you’re not taking this seriously. 

**SW:** I’m just sayin’. Everything’s better with loop-de-loops.

**Adora:** Ugh, it’s fine. I got this. _[Swift Wind whinnies and flies away]_

_[She-Ra turns the Sword into a rope and starts trying to lasso the Watchtower back into place, piece by piece.]_

**Adora:** Still got this. 

_[gets dragged along the ground by a floating rock]_

* * *

**(14:38)**

**Adora:** _[chucks rocks on the pile held together by the Rope of Protection, secures it under the rope]_ How’s that look?

**SW:** You know what, I don’t think that one goes there after all. In fact, it might be upside-down. Maybe you should take it all apart and start again. 

**Adora:** _[smiles with a maniacal gleam and strokes the rock]_ Hmm. 

**SW:** You seem stressed. Why don’t we list all our favorite things until we feel better? I’ll go first. Apples, hay, toppling unjust hierarchies, apples--wait, I said that already…

_[notices that Adora is struggling with the rock, stops, goes and braces the far side in an attempt to help. It doesn’t work.]_

**Adora:** What! are you doing!

**SW:** I’m helping! I’m She-Ra’s steed and that’s what I do!

**Adora:** This isn’t helping! Can you just…? _[Rope slips out of the knot and everything—including Adora—goes flying, leaving Swift Wind standing there looking worried.]_

**SW:** Adora!

* * *

**(18:41)**

_[Adora topples sideways into the grass]_

**SW:** Adora! Adora! Are you okay?

**Adora:** I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what this Watchtower is supposed to do or how it’s supposed to help. 

**SW:** If that’s the case, then… why are you doing all of this anyway? 

**Adora:** I need to be a better She-Ra than Mara. I need to know how to control my powers so I don’t hurt people like she did. Light Hope is the only one who can teach me, and she’s broken!

**SW:** You’re really freaking out about this Mara thing, aren’t you? 

**Adora:** How could I not?? She ruined everything! And I don’t know how to fix it. 

**SW:** I’m sorry I didn’t take this mission more seriously. The truth is, I’m just so excited to be your steed. I guess I just got carried away. 

**Adora:** And I’m sorry I dragged you into this with me. You were just a horse when I accidentally zapped you with my sword. If it weren’t for me, you’d have been able to live out the rest of your days carefree, in a nice pasture in Thaymor. 

**SW:** Adora, I wouldn’t trade my voice and my wings for anything. I have the chance to change the world now. To make it better than when I found it. I can’t imagine ever going back. Can you? 

**Adora:** No. I don’t think I can. _[hugs Swift Wind]_

* * *

**(20:24)**

_[Swift Wind’s horn starts to glow. They both pull back.]_

**Adora:** Is this…?

**SW:** Our Sacred Bond??? 

_[He stands up, and they see a floating octahedron pulsing with blue light at the center of the field]_

**SW:** Ooh, this is it! This is what I’ve been sensing! This is the epicenter! 

**Adora:** She-Ra destroyed this place. Now it’s up to She-Ra to fix it. For the honor of Grayskull! 

_[She transforms into She-Ra, and gets on his back. They’re both glowing now. SW takes off and they fly up toward the center. She-Ra touches the octahedron with the Sword. It comes back together, but Adora has to dodge all the rocks now.]_

**SW:** I got this. Loop-de-loops!


	4. S02E03: "Signals"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, friends. Whew.

**(20:37)** \- _[at the antenna in the town square in Alwyn]_

**SW:** This is it! The noise is coming from here! 

**Adora:** It looks like Light Hope’s beacon. 

**Bow:** It’s an antenna. I’m guessing this outpost is built on some kind of First Ones communication hub. When the Black Garnet disrupted the planet, it must’ve caused the hub to power up. It’s trying to send old stored messages. With you translating, we should be able to turn it off. 

**Adora:** So… These are First Ones? 

**Bow:** Yeah. Why? 

**Adora:** It’s just I’ve been thinking of them as these big, epic figures. But they’re regular people, sending messages to their loved ones. Messages that were never received because of what Mara did to the planet. _[She curls in on herself. Swift Wind nickers next to her. She smiles, then unfolds, walks over to the hub, and places her hand on it. It powers down.]_

**Adora:** Be at rest now. 

**Bow:** The farmers must’ve fled from the ghosts when this thing turned itself on. We should be able to give them a message that it’s safe to return. 

**Glimmer:** Way to go! I think the Rebellion is going to do just fine with you, Master Maker Bow.

**Bow:** Thanks, Glimmer! Now that the antenna is powered down, everything should be back to normal— _[pad glitches. The Message appears on the screen.]_

**Bow:** It’s that message again. It looks like First Ones Writing. 

**Swift Wind:** Huh. But we powered down the antenna. 

**Adora:** Well, if it is First Ones writing, I can’t read it. It’s way too degraded. 

**Glimmer:** You said it yourself, Bow. Your pad must be broken. 

**Bow:** Yeah… That must be it…


	5. S02E06: "Light Spinner"

**(21:20)** \- _[At Bright Moon. Adora and Glimmer are out on the giant statue thingy in front of the palace, setting up some kind of antenna with directions on their placement from Bow]_

**Bow:** A little to the left!

**Adora:** This good? 

**Bow:** Better. Okay now Glimmer, move yours more to the right. _[Glimmer disappears, adjusts her antenna, reappears]_ _My_ right. _[Glimmer disappears and reappears again. They repeat this several times with different hand motions.]_

**Glimmer:** Why are we… _[teleports up and back]_ up on the roof… _[teleports up and back]_ in the middle of the night again? 

**Bow:** You know how I thought my tracker pad had broken back in Alwyn? Well, I’ve been studying it and I realized the garbled static I kept getting on my screen isn’t a bug. It’s picking up some kind of transmission. With these three moons in alignment, all transmissions should be stronger. Adora! Higher and more out-ish! … 

**Adora:** _[starting to fall]_ Uh-oh. Guys? _[Falls. Glimmer teleports to catch her.]_

**Bow:** It’s working! We did it! Guys, you gotta see this! 

**Adora:** _[appearing behind him in Glimmer’s arms]_ Just tell me you got the message. 

**Bow:** Some of it’s degraded. Can you read the rest?

**Adora:** Serenia… portal… Mara. What’s a Serenia? 

**Glimmer:** I don’t know. But if it has to do with Mara, it can’t be good. 

_[End episode on a shot of the message on Bow’s tracker pad]_


	6. S02E07: "Reunion"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: 
> 
> \- Again, mainly a tangential mention of Mara, in the message, and in the fact that they’re trying to find “Mara’s ship”  
> \- It’s not clear whether or not the dragon on the vase is Mara’s, or what.  
> \- I like George and Lance a lot and their library gets me hot  
> \- Also I love the worldbuilding

**(00:17)** \- _[Bow is out on the statue at Bright Moon. It looks like he's been up all night. He's talking into his voice recorder.]_

 **Bow:** Serenia, portal, Mara. Maybe Mara’s last name is Serenia. Or maybe the portal is a Serenia? I’m gonna be honest with you, Future-Bow, I’m getting nowhere. _[tracker pad starts beeping.]_ No! Was that today! No this can’t be happening now now. No no no no no!

* * *

**(01:36)** \- _[Adora and Glimmer are walking through the Woods, tracking Bow.]_

 **Glimmer:** Bow’s tracker pad and arrows are gone. He must’ve left after he shot that through my window. 

**Adora:** The note that says “I’m fine, don’t follow me”?

 **Glimmer:** He’s _not fine_! We _have_ to follow him! If he was _fine_ , he would’ve told us he was _leaving_! And after finding out that signal is about Mara—

 **Adora:** Okay, okay, Glimmer, just—calm down. I agree, okay? So, where does Bow go when he’s not at Bright Moon? 

**Glimmer:** uhhhh

 **Adora:** Seriously? How long have you two been friends again? 

**Glimmer:** _Look_ , Bow _really_ values his privacy. He’s never talked about his past or where he came from! Never! And you _know_ how talkative and open Bow usually is! Something’s wrong. What if he’s in trouble? 

**Adora:** Bow definitely came this way, judging from the broken twigs, the sap, and his incredibly distinct footprints. 

**Glimmer:** _[gasps]_ There’s no way Bow would leave his trick arrows behind! I told you, he’s in trouble. 

**Adora:** What is that place?

_[they teleport in wordlessly]_

**Glimmer:** We have to find Bow and get him out of this, uh… Library? 

**Adora:** Have you ever heard of a library in the Whispering Woods? 

_[Bow comes back in, notices them, and freaks out.]_

**Glimmer:** Bow! I’m so glad we found you—

 **Adora:** We’re here to break you out, or, fight your kidnappers, or—we’re not exactly sure what we’re— Uh…

 **Glimmer:** _[gasps in horror]_ What have they DONE to you??? _[mourns the death of the ab window]_

* * *

**(08:13)** \- _[In the Library after meeting Lance and George. Bow is explaining things to Glimmer and Adora under the excuse of "showing them his room"]_

 **Bow:** —Besides, my dads have the largest collection of First Ones artifacts and writings in Etheria. This is the perfect place to look for answers about She-Ra, Serenia, the Mara message—everything! 

**Adora:** Sure, why not! We can be ~scholars~. How hard can it be?

 **Glimmer:** _[groans]_ This is gonna be a disaster. 

**Bow:** Maybe with that attitude it will be.

* * *

**(12:10)** \- _[After the whole business with the dragon and Adora's triple major and also teaching—which is absolutely a thing students do IRL, esp. grad students, buuuuuuut I don't know anything about Etheria's university system, either]_

 **Bow:** SO! for, uh, school, _[laughs]_ we got this First Ones puzzle to solve. But the last word is giving us trouble. Have you ever heard of Serenia?

 **Lance:** _[excited squeak]_

_[cut to Lance dumping a literal pile of scrolls, tablets, crystals, etc. onto a table]_

**George:** Serenia was the name of a mythical First Ones hero. Although _some_ of us think she was a real person. _[shoots Lance a Look]_

 **Lance:** Mm-hm. _Some_ of us also think the Elberon vase only dates back one millennium. 

**Bow:** Is this… everything you have on Serenia?

 **Lance:** Oh, yes, I’m so sorry. _[laughs]_ No, everything from the first floor. There’s _lots_ more on the second. 

**Glimmer:** Ugh, this is gonna take hours. 

**Lance:** Hours, days, maybe weeks! And, if you’re really lucky, it might take you… a whole lifetime. _[puts an arm around George’s shoulders and takes his hand]_

 **George:** Ugh, you’re so corny. _[holds Lance’s hand anyway]_

* * *

**(13:37)** \- _[Researching. Bow and Glimmer are reading at the table while Adora helps Lance and George settle their debate about the meaning of the elemental's shell's inscription]_

 **Bow:** _[puts tablet down and lays back on the couch with a sigh]_ We’re still getting nowhere. What does a mythological First Ones hero have to do with Mara? _[notices Glimmer is strangely silent]_ … Hey Glimmer? What’s up?

* * *

**(19:42)** \- _[After the fight with the elemental and Bow has come out to his dads as Not A Historian]_

 **Bow:** On one of our missions, received a message from an unknown source. If we knew what “Serenia” meant, I think we could figure out the rest. 

**George:** _[walks over to look at the tablet in Lance’s hands]_

 **Lance:** “Serenia”, “portal”, “Mara”. Okay. But what are these other words? 

**Adora:** _[sighs, frustrated and dejected]_ I don’t know. It’s too degraded to read. 

**George:** _[sharp intake of breath]_ Wait a second. Lance—what does this pattern look like to you? 

**Lance:** _[dramatic gasp]_ Ohh, I think you’re right!

 **Bow:** What is it? 

**George:** _[hands Bow the tablet]_ Look at it, Bow. _Really_ look at it. What do you see?

 **Bow:** _[jawdropped]_ … These aren’t words at all, are they? 

**Lance:** _[growing excited]_ Ohhhh, now you’ve got it! George, get the projector!

* * *

**(20:19)** \- _[they’re gathered around the projector, a globe-like object studded with what appears to be glass or crystal of varying colors that’s startlingly similar to Entrapta’s mechanistic model of Etheria from the end of Season 1, with its metallic body and colored lights representing the runestones]_

 **George:** The world of the First Ones was different from ours. Climate, language, even the skies were different—filled with cosmic formations they called… _[Lance backs up and George hits a button on the globe that causes the light inside it to turn on, creating a holographic projection of a starry night sky around them]_

 **Adora:** _Stars._

 **Lance:** The First Ones used them to navigate and named constellations after mythical heroes… including Serenia. _[one particular star formation lights up, and First Ones glyphs appear around it—spelling out “Serenia”]_

 **George:** The constellation Serenia would only appear in summer, and only over one place. _[he touches the globe and a holographic representation of the place pops up—]_

 **Glimmer:** The Crimson Waste

 **Adora:** Then that’s where we have to go. 

**Lance:** What?! You can’t just go into the Crimson Waste. It’s a no-man’s-land, a-a giant lifeless desert! No one’s ever made it that far and come back alive! 

**George:** Promise me you kids will stay away. 

_[Adora looks back at the projection of the Waste, determination settling over her features]_


	7. S03E01: "The Price of Power"

**(17:46)** \- _[At the Crystal Castle, after Shadow Weaver reveals that Adora came through a portal as a baby]_

**Adora:** Light Hope! I know you’re here!

**Light Hope:** _[materializes. She glides along beside and then ahead of Adora, turning away from her as she moves ahead]_ Greetings, Adora. I was not expecting you for training today. But this shows an uptick in your dedication. 

**Adora:** You said you’ve been watching me since I was an infant. So you must know what I really am. 

_[Light Hope glitches visibly, and remains turned away from Adora, frozen in place]_

**Adora:** _[continues pressing when Light Hope does not move]_ Where I came from. 

**Adora:** _[when Light Hope remains motionless]_ ANSWER ME!

**Light Hope:** _[turns around to face Adora]_ It is true. You are not of Etheria. 

**Adora** : Why didn’t you _tell_ me? 

**Light Hope:** _[begins to glide towards Adora]_ Explain. Why are you asking about events in your own memory bank? 

**Adora:** My _what_? 

**LH:** Why are you asking for the clarification of events you witnessed? 

**Adora:** _[flusters]_ I was a _baby_! Babies don’t… _remember things_! 

**LH:** Interesting. I shall make a note of this. _[turns away with what might be a small smirk]_

**Adora:** Light Hope… where did I come from?

_[Instead of answering verbally, Light Hope turns back towards Adora, hand raised out in front of her. Adora gasps as scenes of an empty field, carpeted in foliage and littered with rock formations, appear and swirl around her, changing the interior of the Crystal Castle into what appears to be a meadow, somewhere far from here. Light Hope stands behind her. Directly in front of them spins a whirlpool of ominous dark energy, crackling with power.]_

**LH:** This is the portal that you came through, Adora. 

_[As they watch, the portal closes; a mere blip in time. The sounds of a baby crying fill the memory. Adora winces as a holographic form of Hordak walks directly through her towards the source of the crying.]_

**LH:** The Horde stole you, turned you into a soldier for their war. I could not stop them. So I watched, and waited for the day I could unite you with the Sword. 

_[Adora draws the Sword and lays the flat of the blade across her palm]_

**Adora:** The Sword… These powers…

**LH:** The First Ones came from beyond the stars. They made the Sword so that it would only respond to one of their own kind. 

**Adora:** I’m… I’m a First One?

**LH:** You are upset. I do not understand. 

**Adora:** Did I have a family? Could go back? A portal brought me here— could a portal take me… home? 

**LH:** When Mara cut us off from the rest of the universe, she destroyed our portal capabilities. Attempting to open one now would have— _[alarm flashes]_ —devastating consequences.

**Adora:** _Mara!_ She must have come from the same place I did! Why did she do it? 

**LH:** It is irrelevant. _[vocal glitch]_ This is your home now. As She-Ra, you—

**Adora:** You _aren’t listening to me!_

**LH:** You are behaving erratically. To bear the power of She-Ra is an honor. 

**Adora:** Don’t _I_ get a say in what happens to me? Don’t I get a choice??

**LH:** No. This is your destiny. You do not choose. You were chosen. 

_[Adora’s eyes go wide with shock and pain—and then anger settles on her face. She turns and walks away from Light Hope]_

**LH:** _[calling after her]_ Adora. Adora! Where are you going? _[glitches; then, lower, to herself]_ It is happening again.

* * *

**(20:12)** \- _[back at Bright Moon]_

**Glimmer:** We should never have let her talk to Adora! I can’t even imagine what she must be feeling.

_[Adora opens the door to Glimmer’s room and slips in. The two look up at her, and then rush over to hug her, their relief palpable]_

**Glimmer:** Adora! 

**Bow:** Are you okay? 

**Adora:** I’m not sure yet. But I think I know what I have to do. My whole life, people have been hiding the truth from me. So, I’m gonna go look for answers myself. Mara started all of this when she stranded Etheria. She’s the only clue we have about portals, and… And me. I’m going to the Crimson Waste. I’m going to follow the message from Mara. I know it’s incredibly dangerous, but this is my _choice_. You don’t have to come with me. 

**Glimmer:** Adora, of course we’re going with you. 

**Bow:** You think you could get us to stay behind if you _tried_? 

_[Adora pulls them both into a hug again]_


	8. S03E02: "Huntara"

**(00:26)** \- _[In the Crimson Waste]_

**Adora:** _[sighs]_ Thanks for coming with me, guys.

**Bow:** Of course

**Adora:** And the Queen is _really_ okay with us taking off like this? I would’ve thought a mission to the Crimson Waste would’ve been too risky for her.

**Glimmer:** Oh, she hates this idea. Which is why I didn’t tell her we were going! Besides, it’s not like anyone else has a plan to stop Hordak from opening a portal. You’re right, tracking Mara’s message to the source is the best lead we have.

* * *

**(14:58)** \- _[after teleporting out of the pit Huntara and the other Wastelanders threw them in]_

**Glimmer:** Ugh, I’m SICK of this! We’ve been robbed, tricked, temporarily paralyzed, and now we’re stuck out here in the middle of—

**Bow:** Glimmer! _[Bow grabs her hand and directs her attention to Adora, who’s sitting on her knees at the edge of the pit, staring blankly into it.]_

**Glimmer:** —I mean, I’m so glad we finally got out of there.

**Bow:** Adora?

**Adora:** Having this mission made me feel in control. After the last few days, I really needed it. I needed answers. I thought if I found out more about Mara, I’d find out more about myself, where I came from, and… why.

**Bow:** And we’ll still get those answers. We’re not beat yet. Sure, this road trip has been… kind of a disaster—

**Glimmer:** Pretty standard for us, honestly.

**Bow:** —But we know you’re going through a lot, and we’ve got your back. Whatever you need to do.

**Glimmer:** Besides, it’s not like _you_ stole our weapons and left us stranded.

**Adora:** It’s Huntara. 

**Glimmer:** _[growls]_ Exactly! It’s Huntara’s fault.

**Adora:** No! It’s Huntara! _[Adora points to a set of tracks leading away from the pit and into the distance]_

* * *

**(22:04)** \- _[after the fight]_

**Huntara:** You’re right. What I saw in the Horde scared me, and I ran. But I’m not gonna run anymore. I face my problems head-on. And if you’re trying to stop the war, then— then I _will_ do what I can to help you.

**Huntara:** Now come on. We’ve got lots of ground to cover before we reach the ship.

**Adora:** What ship?

* * *

**(22:26)** \- _[The crew reaches the top of a ridge. The Best Friend Squad all look at whatever is over the crest of the ridge completely agape.]_

**Bow:** Adora… What is that?

**Adora:** It’s… It’s Mara’s ship.


	9. S03E03: "Once Upon A Time In The Waste"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE MESSAGE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to limit any notes I took on character actions, because that opens the door for a lot of interpretive shenanigans that aren't necessary for a transcript, and could be counterproductive depending on how you want to use the transcript. But there was some stuff I wanted to note, particularly in and around the message, so, apologies. All misinterpretations, snide comments, mistakes, and slanted commentary are mine.
> 
> I also took extra timestamps around the message. Again, all based on the version available on Netflix, since offline recordings might not be standardized.

**(04:54)**

**Adora:** I can’t believe I’m standing in front of Mara’s ship. 

**Glimmer:** How do you know this is Mara’s? 

**Adora:** Light Hope showed me Mara’s ship crashing. Right before the stars disappeared. 

**Huntara:** Well I don’t know who Mara is, but that’s definitely the ship that says your name. 

**Adora:** Wait. Says _my_ name?

**Huntara:** Not Adora. It says She-Ra.

**Bow:** This. Is. Incredible. A First Ones ship? This thing used to travel through _space_. _[squeals with glee]_ Think of all the amazing things it contains! 

_[cut to the entryway of the spaceship. It’s completely empty. Stripped bare.]_

**Bow:** … Or it could be empty. That’s an option, too. 

**Adora:** This— this can’t be it. Where’s the message coming from, then? 

**Glimmer:** _[to Huntara]_ Has this ship always been here?

**Huntara:** The Crimson Waste got hit with the _mother_ of all dust storms. And when it cleared, this was… unearthed. 

**Bow:** And then people stole everything they could pry up and take

**Huntara:** Look, if they didn’t want things stolen, they should’ve bolted everything down better. Besides— _[chuckles]_ — _no one_ comes here anymore.

**Glimmer:** Because there’s nothing left to steal? 

**Huntara:** Well, that. And, it’s haunted

**Ghostly voice:** _She-Ra. Etheria. Gone._

_[The crew reacts with varying degrees of terror]_

**Adora:** Where is that voice coming from? And where’s the door? This ship is massive but this room is tiny. There has to be a door around here somewhere— _[something catches her eye, stopping her mid-rant]_

_[on the floor is an engraved shape. After studying it for a few moments, Adora draws the Sword]_

**Adora:** Hold on. _[she transforms the Sword into a shield and holds it in front of her. Light gathers in the runestone and flows into the engravings on the floor.]_

_[the light continues to spill throughout the linework on the floor, the walls—and a familiar form on the wall, a stylized depiction of She-Ra in the same style as the anonymous engravings in the various First Ones temples in the Whispering Woods, set in a pyramidal shape: The door.]_

_[The door splits open three ways, into a dark corridor—and bats rush out]_

**Ghostly Voice:** _She-Ra. Etheria. Gone._

* * *

**(09:31)** \- _[in the dark, somewhere onboard Mara’s ship]_

**Glimmer:** We do this on three. One, two—

**Bow:** _[voice cracking]_ Wait! On three, or after three?

**Huntara:** _[groans]_

**Glimmer:** On three. One, two, three!

_[This door opens to reveal the crew mostly huddled around Adora—with the exception of Huntara, who’s standing off behind them looking like she might regret throwing her lot in with them. Bow and Glimmer in particular look ready to panic, but as they take in whatever lies in the room beyond the door, their panic fades into something else.]_

_[Cut to the view of what the crew sees: The ship’s bridge, a large, open space in a faintly triangular or pyramidal design, like most of the rest of the ship. On the far side from the door, there is a section of control panels that takes up… almost none of the bridge, but it still stretches a sizable distance. In the very center of the bridge sits a single pilot’s chair. It appears to be empty.]_

**Adora:** Whoa.

**Bow:** Whoa. 

_[The crew begins to scout around. Bow touches one of the panels and manages to hit a button, which lights up—and a hologram pops out, of the message that he received on his tracker pad]_

**Bow:** This is it! This is the same message from my tracker pad. 

_[The message fizzles out and disappears, and a kind of purple-pink light-smoke begins flickering in a column closer to the front of the bridge. Bow startles, but settles back into the chair. The rest of the crew looks on in shock.]_

_[The static clears, and we see her: She-Ra. But not Adora’s She-ra; someone else. The image doesn’t face towards them at first, but it turns, and speaks:]_

**Mara:** _I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone._

**Adora:** Mara! I have so many questions for you, I don’t even know where to start, I—

_[the image dissolves into static, then resolves, again at an odd angle and then turning to face the crew.]_

**Mara:** _I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone._

**Adora:** Um… Hi? I’m Adora. 

_[Huntara walks up to the image and prods it with the sharpened end of her staff. The image glitches and the voice distorts. A hologram. Adora looks down, somewhere between disappointed and disgusted.]_

**Huntara:** Well that’s unsettling. 

**Adora:** No. No, no—this isn’t it. I’ve done this before there’s usually a—a password or something. 

**Mara:** _I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria—_

**Adora:** Eternia!

**Mara:** _—And I am gone._

**Adora:** I have the Sword! I am She-Ra! Administrator detected! _Speak to me!_

**Mara:** I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone.

**Adora:** _[begins to laugh, unsettlingly, angrily.]_

**Glimmer:** Uh… Adora?

**Adora:** Of course it’s on a loop, of _course_ it is! Because why would a _hologram_ ever give me a straight answer! Solve a puzzle. Train. Let go. I do _everything_ they tell me, waiting for answers, and all I’m left with is… is… _[she stares at the hologram]_

**Adora:** Why was I taken from my family? Why was I forced to become a soldier? Why did I come here if this was nothing but another dead _end_ — _[she’s walked through the image of Mara, reducing it to smoke again, and now she slams one fist on the ancient control panel]_

_[The grainy but unmistakable image of the Sword of Protection’s hilt materializes above a slot that looks suspiciously blade-shaped]_

**Bow:** Adora— I’m sorry. Maybe we can—

_[Adora pulls the Sword from over her shoulder and slides it into the slot. The runestone shines brightly, and light pulses through the neat linework gracing the bridge’s interior. The panels begin to come to life. Everything has a blue glow to it.]_

_[The looping hologram disappears. Over the captain’s chair, a new hologram appears, made out of the same blue light that powers the rest of the ship. Someone—a human someone, not a reconstruction—is captured in the recording, sitting in the pilot’s chair. She’s bandaged, scraped, visibly crying—but still tapping at the controls.]_

_[This is Mara.]_

_[Mara looks up, looks around, as if she’s aware that she’s being watched now.]_

**(11:53)**

**Mara:** _I don’t have much time, I barely made it out—_ [glitch] _—If you are seeing this, it means you wield the Sword. You are the new She-Ra. It means I failed. I was supposed to be the last. And I am so, so sorry._

* * *

**(16:23)**

**Mara:** _I don’t know what they told you, but it wasn’t all bad at first. We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to really study this planet’s magic._ [glitches] _How could it go so wrong?_ [glitching] _Light Hope— Use the— Can’t— Weapon— weapon— weapon—_ [glitching ends] 

**Mara:** _I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in. I hid us from the rest of the universe to keep everyone safe. This is the one place they’ll never find us. I saw what they would do, the deaths that would follow. I couldn’t stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option—_ [glitch] 

**Mara:** _—Maybe it’s been a week. Maybe it’s been thousands of years. I never wanted to be a hero. I won’t be remembered as one._ [alarms start blaring] 

**Mara:** _You have the sword now. It is the Administrator Key to our planet. With it, you can activate a portal. So I’m begging you, don’t do it. Leave us here. If you open a portal, death and destruction will follow. For the good of the universe, Etheria must stay in Despondos. If not, everyone will—_

_[message ends]_

**(17:36)**


	10. S03E05: "Remember"

**(03:11)** \- _[Adora and Catra walk into the locker room, joking with each other. Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio are waiting, with a cake]_

**Lonnie:** SURPRISE!

**Kyle:** Surprise!

**Adora:** What is this? ... Are those ration bars?

**Lonnie:** We wouldn’t have been able to defeat the rebels at Thaymore without you. Plus, you were the one who talked Shadow Weaver into letting us come! So, we all pitched in, took Kyle’s ration bars for a week, and made this

**Kyle:** I’m hungry, but celebrating your victory is worth it!

**Adora:** Guys! You even got the gray kind! It’s way better than the brown kind. 

**Lonnie:** Hey, it was Catra’s idea.

**Adora:** _[smirking]_ Oh, yeah?

_[Catra is leaning up against the wall, watching the secondhand embarrassment with a smirk._

**Catra:** Eh, whatever, don’t make a big deal about it. 

**Adora:** Wow, I can’t believe you like me! That is _so_ embarrassing for you. _[she pulls Catra into a headlock]_

**Catra:** Ow, stop it! Get off! This is _not_ because I like you. _[but she’s laughing when she pulls away and tackles Adora to the ground. They land near Kyle’s feet, and he reacts, overbalancing]_

**Kyle:** Whoa! No, nonono! 

_[he drops the cake]_

**Lonnie:** Oh, come on, Kyle!

**Kyle:** … Sorry…

_[Adora and Catra stare at the dropped cake for a moment, then burst out laughing. Someone starts a food fight.]_

_[Adora continues laughing and looks fondly back at the cake—and gasps, because the drawing of her face on it has been replaced with the word “MARA” in large letters taking up most of the top of the cake]_

**Adora:** What?

**Catra:** Hang on. You got something riiight… \\[slaps a chunk of ration bar paste on her face] There! \\[Adora grins, relaxes, wipes the paste off her face—and when she looks back at the cake, the word “MARA” is gone. It’s the picture of her face, just like before]

**Shadow Weaver:** _[from the doorway]_ Adora! Get off the floor.

* * *

**(04:42)** \- _[In the hall outside the locker room]_

**Shadow Weaver:** I will admit, I did not think Catra and the others were ready to be deployed. But under your command, they performed admirably. You are becoming every bit the leader I always knew you to be. 

**Adora:** _[laughs]_ Thank you, Shadow Weaver. I couldn’t have done it without them

**SW:** Suffice it to say, Hordak is impressed with your performance. He’s rewarding you with a new mission. 

**Adora:** _[as Shadow Weaver brings them to a halt next to a window]_ Really?!

**SW:** You’ll get the rest of the details at briefing. Look at it, Adora. This is who you are. The Force Captain who will lead the Horde to victory. It’s what you’ve always dreamed of. 

_[As Shadow Weaver speaks, Adora sees the bright lights of the portal flash like lightning across the buildings of the Fright Zone. She gasps.]_

**SW:** Everything is perfect. 

(5:20) _[the image of Madame Razz flashes across the window as if in a reflection. The echo of her voice sounds:]_

**Razz:** _Mara, dearie._

_[Adora spins. Razz’s butterflies flit around them in the Fright Zone corridor]_

**Adora:** What did you just say? 

**SW:** I said, are you ready for the briefing, Adora? Now run along, don’t keep the sergeant waiting. 

_[Shadow Weaver floats evilly away. Adora looks around herself, back out the window, dazed.]_

* * *

**(06:09)** \- _[At the briefing for the attack on Salineas]_

**Sergeant:** Welcome, Force Captains. After the perfect execution of our mission in Thaymor, the Horde is now in a better position than ever to take the rest of Etheria. And here’s our next target. 

**Sergeant:** The Salineas sea gate. Separating Horde territory from Rebel-controlled waters.

_[a folded slip of paper falls down from the ceiling, landing on Adora’s thigh. Adora picks it up and unfolds it, confused. It reads “MARA”. Adora gasps.]_

**Sergeant:** We have a week to plan, then it’s go time, people. Now—

_[Adora looks around frantically for the source of the note]_

**Sergeant:** —It’s possible that you might have to go face-to-face with a Princess. 

_[Pictures of the Princesses Adora has fought beside begin to flash up on the screen: Angella, Mermista & Frosta—and memories begin to flash back in between the images—She-Ra, Adora, side-by-side with… Princesses? These same princesses she’s being shown now?]_

**Sergeant:** They’re powerful, and completely devoid of conscience. But it’s possible to take them out. 

_[The flashbacks are coming faster and faster. Adora yells, covering her ears with her hands]_

**Razz:** [echoing] _What happened to the stars?_

**Adora:** _[stands up abruptly, knocking her chair over, forcing Force Captain Octavia to take a step backwards behind her]_ WHAT’S GOING ON?? 

**Sergeant:** Uh, Force Captain Adora? You have something to say?

**Adora:** _[looks up and gasps when she sees the giant screen behind the sergeant that was just being used for the presentation is gone]_ Where’s the screen? 

**Sergeant:** There’s… no screen. All the information should be in your report. 

_[Adora looks down at the slip of paper in her hands and gasps—the slip of paper is gone, transformed into a sheaf of papers. The “report.” Adora drops the report and runs out of the room.]_

**Sergeant:** Force Captain!

_[Scorpia makes a “she’s crazy” motion at the Force Captain seated next to her]_

* * *

**(09:12)** \- _[while Adora and Catra are outside on the platform talking about the “is this what you really want” question]_

**Lonnie:** Adora! Catra! Thought we’d find you up there. Get down here! We got big news. 

_[the flash of the portal swallows Catra and Adora from behind—and then they’re on the ground, standing in front of Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio]_

**Lonnie:** Okay okay. We just got word—we’re being sent to Salineas tonight. 

**Adora:** But… they said at the briefing… that’s not for another week

**Lonnie:** _[the portal flashes behind them, over and over again]_ … Adora, it’s been a week. _[the portal flashes again, and the sky goes from murky late-afternoon to night time]_

**Adora:** No. 

**Catra:** Adora?

**Adora:** I know this is wrong! Can’t you see it? My memories don’t match. We’re jumping around. Things are disappearing. It’s like time and space _aren’t working right_. And I—

**Catra:** Adora, stop it! Stop! 

_[Adora continues to cradle her head in both hands. Her eyes fly open. Images flash through her head—Mara in her message, sitting in the pilot’s chair of her ship; the Portal opening with the Sword at the center of it]_

**Adora:** _Mara_. Portal. I think— I think I remember. None of this is right. 

_[A flash of Adora and Razz at the Beacon, looking up at the holographic memory of the stars, a night so long ago]_

**Adora:** We’re not supposed to _be_ here—

**Catra:** Adora. Everything’s okay. 

**Adora:** Stop saying that! This isn’t right! Everyone keeps telling me everything is perfect but it’s _not_. … Everyone except Scorpia. 

_[Adora pushes away from her squadmates, back towards the door.]_

**Catra:** Adora! Adora, where are you going!

* * *

**(12:18)** \- _[while Adora and Scorpia are trying to get into Hordak’s sanctum to find the portal]_

**Scorpia:** Uh— Wasn’t there a door here just a second ago? 

**Adora:** Things _are_ disappearing. It’s getting worse. We have to hurry, there— there’s gotta be another way in—

_[Razz flashes through Adora’s peripheral vision, just in the shadows]_

**Adora:** There! It’s that lady!

**Scorpia:** What lady??

**Adora:** The one who says “Mara”! Come on!

**Scorpia:** That makes no sense! But— I’m gonna follow you because I don’t see a lot of other options!

* * *

**(15:02)** \- _[Outside again, immediately after Scorpia is taken by the portal. Adora has escaped from the portal on the inside of the Fright Zone, but the outside is starting to buckle, too. Adora is just trying to stay ahead of the shifts—]_

_[And then she sees Razz again, walking away from her, humming. Adora gasps.]_

**Adora:** Wait! 

**Razz:** Why hello, Mara dearie! 

**Adora:** Who are you? Why do I know you? What are you doing in the Fright Zone? Is this real?

**Razz:** I am afraid so, dearie. But you can still fix it! There’s still time! _[The Fright Zone begins to fall apart around them.]_

**Razz:** Find me in the woods, dearie!

* * *

**(20:08)** \- _[Catra has just let herself fall into the portal. Adora reels, then runs through the woods, tears streaming down her face. Finally, she collapses in a clearing, sobbing on all fours. A familiar voice comes from the edge of the woods]_

**Razz:** Oh, is that you, Mara? You made it after all. 

**Adora:** Madame Razz!

**Razz:** It’s been such a long time since we last saw each other, hasn’t it? That, or… it hasn’t happened yet. I always get those two things mixed up. 

**Adora:** I couldn’t save anyone else. 

**Razz:** It’s not too late. You can still bring them back. But you must act quickly. 

**Adora:** How do you know all of this? 

**Razz:** Because this has all happened before! I remember it like it was yesterday. For Madame Razz, it _was_ yesterday. 

**Adora:** … This happened before. With Mara! 

**Razz:** Yes, dearie. When she moved Etheria and took away the stars. It was crazy. 

**Adora:** It’s all my fault. I’ve been so afraid of becoming another Mara, destroying the world the way she did, and now— it’s happening. 

**Razz:** _[bonks Adora on the head with the handle of her broom]_ Destroy the world? No. Mara _saved_ the world! And so will you! But you can’t waste any more time. You need to go back to the beginning. You need to find the Sword. That is the only way this will stop. 

**Adora:** I did that, didn’t I? I went back to the Fright Zone. The portal wasn’t there. 

**Razz:** No, that wasn’t the beginning! You need to go back to the very beginning. 

**Adora:** I-I don’t understand. 

**Razz:** That’s alright, dearie. You don’t need to understand! You just need to remember.


	11. S03E06: “The Portal”

**(11:17)** \- _[At Dryll.]_

**Entrapta:** Portals are gateways, wormholes that connect one area of space to another. The only way to turn it off is from the inside. BUT whoever shuts the portal down can’t leave. They’ll be trapped between realities, possibly forever. Ohhhhhhhhh imagine the _data_ they could collect. 

**Glimmer:** Wait, so, whoever turns it off will be trapped inside it forever? 

**Entrapta:** Exactly.

* * *

**(12:47)** \- _[At the Crystal Castle]_

_[One moment, they’re in the Crypto Castle, watching the world fall apart around them—the next, they’re at the Beacon, the Crystal Castle, shining even under the weight of the centuries]_

**Glimmer:** Where are we?

**Adora:** We’re at the Beacon. _[Adora looks around—and gasps]_

_[above her, in a flash, the empty night sky fills with tiny points of light—stars. A few at first, but then more, and deeper]_

**Adora:** Stars? 

**Glimmer:** Adora, what is happening? 

**Adora:** It’s what Entrapta said. Reality is unraveling faster now. I— I think we might be too late. _[she sags, head bowing. She gathers herself, straightens—and gasps again]_

_[Mara—no hologram, the real flesh-and-blood Mara—is standing in the courtyard of the Crystal Castle, looking as shocked to see Adora as Adora is to see her. She opens her mouth as if to say something, takes half a step forward—and the ground rumbles.]_

_[A huge split appears in the ground—and within moments, the Crystal Castle, and Mara with it, is gone, consumed by the portal. All that’s left is the portal’s relentless, never-ending light]_

_[The trio stares at the force of the portal, only a few feet from them. Adora looks back at them, grits her teeth, and forces a smile.]_

**Adora:** Stay here. Entrapta said the portal is centered on me. You’re at risk as long as we’re together. If I draw it away—

_[Glimmer catches her wrist. Adora turns back towards her friends.]_

**Glimmer:** No. I know what you’re thinking, Adora. You said you knew us? Well, we know you.

**Bow:** You can’t relax to save your life. You’re terrible at acting. 

**Glimmer:** You’re stubborn and headstrong… and you’re our best friend. 

_[Adora smiles, tears streaming down her face—and then, suddenly, her hands pass through theirs]_


	12. S04E02: “The Valley of the Lost

**[00:35]** \- _[Bright Moon. War Room.]_

**Glimmer:** So, as part of my new anti-Horde strategy, I’m sending you, Bow, Adora, and Huntara to retrieve Mara’s ship from the Crimson Waste. Then, Bow will repair it, and then _we’ll have a spaceship_! Take _that_ , Horde!

**Adora:** Uh, Glimmer?

**Glimmer:** What? 

**Adora:** The Crimson Waste is a desert. Doesn’t Mermista need, like, water? To use her powers?

**Glimmer:** Ohhhhhhh. Good point. Be right back! _[disappears with Mermista]_

**Huntara:** She gonna do that all the time now? 

**Adora:** Oh, definitely. 

**The General:** Did I hear the queen? She’s needed in the defense meeting immediately! 

_[Glimmer re-appears with Perfuma]_

**Perfuma:** Oh. Hello… everyone. What a… wonderful… _[sneezes]_ Interruption to my morning meditation and to see so much of our beautiful planet before I’ve had my daily tea ceremony! 

**Glimmer:** Sorry. I may have gotten a little lost on the way. But, like I was saying, the Waste has _tons_ of plants that you can use to bring the ship back!

* * *

**(14:46)** \- _[As the gang are hiding from the Horde after Grox’s betrayal, bemoaning the state of the Waste, Bow’s tracker pad goes off]_

**Adora:** Perfuma… What happened back there? 

**Perfuma:** I hate cacti! There, I said it! I love and honor all things, _except cacti_! And I don’t like spitting, or Crimson Waste, it is _full_ of negative energy! 

**Huntara:** Well it wasn’t _always_ like this! It used to be a great place, where an honest criminal could carve out a life! 

**Perfuma:** Well, it’s terrible now! 

**Huntara:** I know! _[she slumps, letting her head fall into her hands. Perfuma does the same.]_

**Perfuma:** _Ouch._

_[Bow’s tracker pad goes off]_

**Glimmer:** Did you _seriously_ hang up on me? 

**Bow:** Yeah, but… just because we were running from the Horde. And now we’re hiding from the Horde. And also, the Horde has Mara’s ship. _[Adora glares at him]_ Sorry.


	13. S04E05: “Protocol”

**(00:57)** \- _[in the Crystal Castle, Adora (as She-Ra) is fighting some bots. It’s clearly easy to the point of being boring. As she wobbles around on one, laughing, Light Hope appears.]_

**Light Hope:** You are not taking your training seriously

**Adora:** _[dispatching the bot]_ What? Me? That doesn’t sound like me. 

**Light Hope:** Adora! 

**Adora:** Ugh. Come on, Light Hope. It’s not like I’m learning anything new here. 

**Light Hope:** Then I must offer more hands-on instruction. There is a bot behind—

_[Adora turns, throwing her sword as she does, skewering the bot. The bot explodes, and Adora catches the Sword. The two of them stare each other down]_

**Adora:** Am I done now? 

**Light Hope:** I sense… _[narrows eyes]_ Resistance

**Adora:** Because this is useless. I don’t need more training. I need answers. We’re fighting a _war_ , and the Horde has been one step ahead at every turn. Glimmer thinks that they’re tracking She-Ra somehow. Is it because my sword is First Ones tech? Or because I’m a First One? And what does that even mean? Who were they? When we found Mara’s ship, she left a recording behind—

**Light Hope:** Adora. _[glides forward a little]_ Mara was compromised. She became unhinged. 

**Adora:** She didn’t seem unhinged. She seemed scared. And she was talking about a weapon. If there’s something that can protect us from the Horde, I need to know about it. 

**Light Hope:** Once you balance the planet, all will be clear. It is your purpose as She— She— _[glitches due to spore storm]_

**Adora:** _[laughing]_ Ohh, wow. Really? Way to avoid the subject.

* * *

**(03:02)** \- _[The Crystal Castle. Adora has somehow shimmed the Sword into the door and is levering it in an attempt to open it.]_

**Adora:** Stupid… glitchy… door!

**Light Hope:** That is not the Sword of Protection’s intended purpose.

**Adora:** Yeah, well, if you’re not gonna tell me anything, I’m leaving.  
 _[Light Hope glitches, then disappears, reappearing in front of Adora]_

**Light Hope:** You cannot leave. My sensors have detected a fluke spore cloud blooming in the Whispering Woods. It is not safe outside. 

**Adora:** Well, that’s convenient. What, you want me to stay here so you can not-answer more of my questions?

**Light Hope:** Adora— _[glitches mightily and then disappears. When she does, the Crystal Castle goes dark.]_

**Adora:** Light Hope? Light Hope!

_[Light Hope appears behind her]_

**LH:** Hello, my name is Light Hope. How may I assist you? 

**Adora:** What’s going on?

**LH:** My system is rebooting. I would like to answer your query, but the information as to what is going on has not yet loaded. _[looks at Adora for a beat]_ Who are you? 

**Adora:** _[gapes]_

* * *

**(06:16)**

**Adora:** What do you mean, who am I? Light Hope!

**LH:** The Light Hope operating system is attempting to reload. Please stand by. 

**LH:** I am pleased to report that my system is now at 22 percent. Oh! I have just learned how to move about the Castle. 

**Adora:** _[laughing]_ Whoa. Okay there. You seem like you’re having fun. _[Light Hope disappears]_ Uh, Light Hope? 

**LH:** _[reappears, but horizontally, in midair, so she’s looking at Adora completely sideways—startling Adora]_ My personality profile has not fully loaded. Am I not usually “fun”? 

**Adora** : Oh no. No no. I’ve never seen you like this. 

**LH:** I have also never seen _you_ like this. Because your identity has not yet loaded. Who are you? 

**Adora:** A-Adora. But I’m, y’know— _[lightsaber noises]_ —She-Ra. _[chuckles]_

**LH:** My primary purpose is to _train_ She-Ra! How may I assist you? 

**Adora:** _[absolutely drunk on the power]_ Wellllllll just before rebooting, you were gonna tell me all about this weapon Mara mentioned, and about where I come from, and about everything I’ve ever wanted to know…?

**LH:** Of course! I will answer all of your questions! But that information has not yet loaded. I did however just learn how to control gravity in the Crystal Castle! _[she reverses gravity and Adora falls toward the ceiling]_ That is not right. Do not worry! I will fix it. _[Adora reverses in midair and starts falling back towards the ground.]_

**Adora:** No no no no no!

* * *

**(08:30)** \- _[Adora falls to the ground after Light Hope corrects the Castle’s gravity]_

**LH:** Apologies. You appear to be in pain. Should I adjust the gravity again?

**Adora:** NO. Has your system loaded anything about Mara’s weapon yet? Or, you know, anything useful? 

**LH:** Are spiders useful? Because I have just learned how to make spiders. 

**Adora:** No, they’re not, get rid of them please.

**LH:** I am so sorry, but that information has not yet loaded.

**Adora:** _[growls and draws the Sword]_ For the honor of Grayskull!

**LH:** _[“ahhh”s and watches with delight]_

* * *

**(09:51)** \- _[Still fighting spiders]_

**Adora:** It would be really good if your system could finish loading now

**LH:** I agree! However, my reboot appears to have malfunction. Loading appears to be frozen at 36%. We must manually override the system to bring my programming fully online. 

**Adora:** How do we do that and how can we do it fast? 

**LH:** We must connect this data crystal to the core processing unit. _[looks at the crystal in her hand]_ I made a crystal! 

**Adora:** So where is the core processing unit? And please don’t say—

**LH:** It is on the other side of these spiders. 

**Adora:** _[groans]_

**LH:** Do not worry. I will assist you. _[summons more spiders]_ Apologies. I made more spiders. Oh! I know what will help! 

**Adora:** No, don’t—

**LH:** I simulated the ocean! Spiders cannot swim. 

**Adora:** Uh— What the— _[gets pulled under by a spider]_

* * *

**(12:01)** \- _[Adora jerks awake in a section of the Crystal Castle she’s never been before. She looks around, gasping for breath.]_

**LH:** Apologies, She-Ra. I did not know that humans cannot swim. However, you will note that I did get rid of the spiders. 

**Adora:** I _can_ swim. I just can’t breathe under water. 

**LH:** Interesting. I shall make a note of this. 

**Adora:** _[looking over the room]_ Well, it’s not the ocean, I’ll give you that.   
_[as they walk, a section of ceiling crashes through the walkway]_

**Adora:** What’s happening?

**LH:** It seems that the spore storm outside has worsened. It is compromising the Crystal Castle. 

**Adora:** Don’t tell me the information for how to stop that hasn’t loaded yet. 

**LH:** _[shakes her head silently. More stuff starts falling down.]_

**Adora:** We need to get to the processing unit. Now.

_[at the processing unit, LH hands Adora the data crystal]_

**LH:** Place it in the left slot. 

**Adora:** _[obeys—then stops just short]_ Are you sure? 

**LH:** Yes! Of course, my system is only at 36%, so I supposed I am 36% sure. 

**Adora:** _Perfect._

**LH:** It is in fact far from perfect. 

**Adora:** I was being sarcastic. 

**LH:** What is “sarcastic”? 

**Adora:** Oh, trust me, that information is _never_ gonna load for you. _[she hesitates one more time—and then the crash of another block of ceiling through the walkway propels her forward those last few inches]_

**LH:** Oh! _[disappears; suddenly, Adora finds herself standing in a blue blank void.]_

**Adora:** What?

**LH:** _[reappears, along with the room they were just in]_

**Adora:** So! Is everything reset now? Can you finish telling me about the weapon and Mara? 

**LH:** Hello, my nam is Light Hope. How may I assist you? 

**Adora:** _[gnaws on her finger in frustration]_

* * *

**(15:38)** \- _[The Crystal Castle, outside the room containing the core processing unit]_

**Adora:** Please tell me that _this_ time your information has loaded

**LH:** I am back to full functionality! _[status bar flashes up, looking the same as before]_ Disregard. That was incorrect. My system reboot is still at only 36%. _[tiny spider with wings flaps gently by]_ Look! I made a bird. 

**Adora:** Of _course_ it was the wrong slot! I don’t know what I expected! Even when you _do_ know everything, you don’t _tell_ me anything. You are useless! _[gasps as she hears herself]_ Oh… Light Hope, I… I’m

**LH:** _[turns away]_ I am a hologram. My primary purpose is to train She-Ra. If I am not doing that, then I have failed. I am sorry, Adora. _[disappears]_

**Adora:** Wait, Light Hope. Light Hope? 

_[more of the ceiling crashes down. Spores begin to filter inside.]_

**Mara’s voice:** _Light Hope!_

_[Adora follows the sound of the voice. It takes her to the heart of the Castle, where Light Hope is watching a recording]_

**Mara:** _Light Hope! Look what I brought you._

**Adora:** _[gasps]_

**Mara:** _Flowers! They’re blooming all over the planet. Here, smell!_

**LH:** _I have no olfactory sensors. I cannot smell._

**Mara:** _They’re pretty, though, right?_

**LH:** _Pretty. Yes, they are aesthetically pleasing. Thank you for bringing them._

**Mara:** _I thought it might liven the place up. It must be hard being stuck in here all the time._

**LH:** _I do not mind. Not when you come to visit me._ [with a gesture, she creates an entire field of flowers just like the ones Mara’s brought her, spreading over the ground in all directions]

**Adora:** _[gasps; it’s beautiful]_

**Mara:** _Oh!_ [laughs, delighted]

**LH:** I looked at my loaded databanks to see if I could find the answers you seek. All I have on Mara is this memory, and a sensation. Warmth. Her memory brings me warmth. 

**Adora:** You and Mara were close? 

**LH:** Yes. We were. Are we not close? 

**Adora:** It’s just that… you keep things from me. I know it’s in a… everything will make sense in time way, but it’s also kind of annoying.

**LH:** “Annoying”. This word has not yet loaded. Is it good?

**Adora:** No.

**LH:** I did not think so. _[turns her attention back to the image of Mara, flowers extended to Light Hope, frozen in time. Smiling.]_ It is my role to watch over She-Ra. I want to serve She-Ra, to protect her to the best of my ability. But… sometimes those abilities are not enough. 

**Adora:** Sometimes I feel that way too! I’m… sorry. About Mara. And… I’m sorry I’m not her. But… we can be friends too, if you want. 

**LH:** Friends. Yes. I would like that. 

**Adora:** _[nods, smiling]_ Come on. Let’s get you fixed.

* * *

**(19:55)** \- _[Back at the core processing unit]_

**Adora:** You promise this other slot is the right one? 

**LH:** I am 36% sure! 

**Adora:** It’ll have to do. _[slides it home. Everything reboots--and the room they were standing in becomes the main chamber of the Crystal Castle.]_

**Adora:** _[smiling]_ Feeling better?

**LH:** Reboot complete. Hello, Adora. The spore cloud has dissipated. It is safe for you to leave. 

**Adora:** What, you don’t wanna hang out with me anymore? 

**LH:** What would we hang from? 

**Adora:** _[laughing]_ Come on, we just saved the Crystal Castle. 

**LH:** There is still the matter of balancing the planet. 

**Adora:** I know that you’re just trying to protect me, but now that we’re friends, you know you can trust me with the truth about everything, right? 

**LH:** Once you balance the planet, all will become clear. _[turns her face away]_

**Adora:** _[sighs]_ We’ll get there.

* * *

**(22:05)** \- _[Back in the Crystal Castle. Light Hope is reviewing the recording of Mara that she showed Adora earlier, this time fully rebooted and alone.]_

**Mara:** _They’re pretty though, right?_

**LH:** _Pretty. Yes, they are aesthetically pleasing._

**Mara:** _I thought they might liven the place up. It must be hard, being stuck in here all the time._

**LH:** _I do not mind. Not when you come to visit me._

**Mara:** [laughing] _Oh!_

**LH:** This memory should have been purged per directive of the Heart of Etheria Project. Permanently delete. 

_[fade to black on Light Hope’s glowing eyes]_


	14. S04E08: “Boys’ Night Out

**(21:53)** \- _[Denouement, at the very tail end of the episode. Bow, after seeing Adora literally brush Glimmer off and run away, goes over to Adora]_

**Bow:** Adora, you and Glimmer—

**Adora:** I know what I have to do, Bow. I’m going to look for Mara’s weapon. The one she mentioned in the message. Maybe it can turn the tide of the war for us. It has to. 

**Bow:** What are you talking about? Glimmer doesn’t need a weapon, she needs her friends. 

**Adora:** No, she doesn’t. _[slides off the railing of the ship, stands]_ But it doesn’t matter. I will fix this. No matter what Glimmer thinks of me. _[walks away]_


	15. S04E09: “Hero”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE MONSTER. 
> 
> Since this is literally the entire episode, I have omitted a few timestamps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, this is as far as I've gotten so far. Still planning to finish out S4 and S5, but needed to feel like I'd accomplished something other than putting a bunch of text in a file. So uh,,, watch this space? Or somethign.

**Madame Razz:** Broom? Where are you! Broom? Ah. There you are! What are you just sitting around for? Today is an important day! We have to get ready for our guest. _[proceeds to make a complete mess out of an otherwise relatively clean house. Stands back and surveys the debris]_ Perfect. _[starts sweeping it up.]_

_[behind her, the door opens]_

**Razz:** Oh, Adora! You’re just in time. 

**Mara:** _[laughs]_ Razz, I told you before. My name isn’t Adora. It’s Mara.

* * *

**Razz:** Yes, yes, of course you’re Mara. Who else would you be? Now come on, silly, we don’t have much time. Today is a very important day. _[hands Mara a basket with a boot in it]_

**Mara:** _[sets boot aside]_ … Why is today important, Razz?

**Razz:** _[muttering]_ Today is important because… because… Oh! Because today we are making a pie. Don’t you remember? You promised! 

**Mara:** That sounds great, Razz, but I can’t stay long today. 

**Razz:** Ah, nonsense, dearie. Now, will you help Madame Razz find her rolling pin? It must be around here somewhere… _[time shift]_

**Adora:** Madame Razz?? 

**Razz:** Mara? _[turns to see Adora standing in the door]_

**Adora:** Oh, Razz! It’s you! I finally found you! 

**Razz:** Eh. If you say so, Mara. Now come on! It’s getting so late. _[turns back to pie-making]_

**Adora:** I’m not Mara! Ugh. It doesn’t matter. Razz, you have to help me! Everything’s falling apart. The Rebelling is losing worse than ever, and Glimmer— I need to find another way to help the Rebellion. I know we can still win this. There was something Mara said in her message. She talked about… some kind of weapon. 

**Razz:** _[stops cold, gasps]_

**Adora:** You _do_ know something! If there’s some kind of First Ones weapon out there, you need to tell me. We could use it to defeat the Horde and free Etheria, and then _Glimmer_ would see that she was _wrong_ about— _[Razz whirls and bonks Adora on the head with her broom. Adora stops cold and rubs her head]_ Ow! What was that for?

**Razz:** You need to stop being so forgetful, Mara! We’re making pie today with Swift Wind!

**Adora:** Once again, I am Adora, and Swift Wind isn’t even—

**Swift Wind:** HELLO!

**Adora:** Swift Wind! What are you doing here??

**SW:** Oh, I visit Razz all the time. You gotta check up on old ladies alone in the woods. Come on Adora, have a heart. 

**Adora:** Okay. Maybe you can help. I need Razz to tell me about Mara’s weapon. 

**SW:** Mara’s weapon? Like, the Sword? She-Ra’s sword? Did I solve it?? Did I solve the mystery??

**Adora:** NO. The weapon Mara talked about in her last message on the ship! Bow’s with the ship trying to clean it up, but it’s still too glitchy to make out. _[turns back to Razz]_ Razz… You knew Mara. Did she ever tell you—? _[Razz places an increasingly large stack of things in Adora’s arms.]_ What are you looking for??

**Razz:** Sugar for the pie! I must have some around here somewhere. Never mind, I know where we can get more! Come, dearie, not a moment to waste, let’s go! _[wanders out with her basket and her broom, leaving Swift Wind and Adora, with her arms still full of stuff, standing in her house]_

**Adora:** Apparently we’re making pie. _[drops all the things in her arms and walks out]_

* * *

**Razz:** Oh, yes. _[picks something off a bush, continues]_

**Adora:** Wait! _[sprinting after her]_

**SW:** Why are we following a wacky old lady through the woods again? 

**Adora:** Because she knows something about the weapon! Razz is leading us somewhere important! Somewhere I can get answers. I’m sure of it. 

**SW:** Adora, as your noble steed, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Razz is kind of… 

**Razz:** Ha! Have to get up earlier than that to trick me, Loo-Kee! _[shakes her fist]_

**SW:** Well, you know, she’s, uh— She’s _Razz_. Do you really think she knows anything? 

**Adora:** Madame Razz always shows up exactly when I need her most. She helped save you, and she helped stop the portal. She knows more than she lets on. There is a method to this, I just have to figure it out. 

**SW:** Is… losing her part of the method? 

**Adora:** Razz? Razz?? Razz!

**Razz:** Adora, come! There’s not much time. _[time glitch]_ You need to keep up. Where are you?

**Mara:** _[draws the Sword]_ Who are you? How did you find this place? 

**Razz:** Ah, Mara, dearie, there you are. Madame Razz wondered where you went. 

**Mara:** _[lowers the Sword slightly]_ H— how do you know my name? 

**Razz:** _[covering her mouth]_ Oh, is this the first time? It’s been so long since it was the first time. _[waves it off]_ Ah. Never mind. Razz is only here to borrow some sugar. _[walks past her and onto the ship]_

**Mara:** What— Hey! This location is highly classified, you can’t just—

**Razz:** _[rummaging through everything, throwing things on the floor]_ How can you find anything in here, Adora? This place is a mess!

**Mara:** Give it— _[Razz hops of the panel she’s on, leaving Mara with an armful of discarded food containers]_

_[Mara watches Razz rummage through all her belongings. Finally, she spies Razz using magic to move one of the containers towards her]_

**Mara:** Magic. You know how to use magic…? _[Razz laughs uncomfortably, puts it and a bunch of other containers in her basket]_ Hey! Stop that!

**Razz:** _[notices the crystal in the ship’s control panel]_ Wow. _[pulls it out and turns away]_

**Mara:** _[grabs the crystal and Razz’s hand]_ No— don’t—

**Razz:** Mine! It’s mine, I—

**Light Hope:** _[appearing squarely between them]_ Intruder detected. _[the two of them startle apart and drop the crystal. It bounces towards Mara]_

**Razz:** RAZZLE DAZZLE! Hits Light Hope repeatedly with her broom. 

**LH:** _[turns towards Mara, glitching as Razz’s broom strikes her]_ Mara, who is this person? 

**Mara:** _[laughing; picks up the crystal]_ I don’t know. She just wandered in. 

**Razz:** Do you see the ghost too? _[Mara laughs]_

**LH:** Her presence is unauthorized. You must remove her from the premises or I will be forced to alert your superiors. 

**Razz:** Your ghost is mean. Ah. _[wanders off]_

**Mara:** What are you looking for?

**Razz:** _[bonks Mara on the head with the soft end of her broom]_ Sugar! How can Madame Razz make a pie without _sugar_? Don’t ask such silly questions, Adora. 

**Mara:** Adora…? _[notices Light Hope smiling at her predicament and frowns at her. Light Hope hides her smile until she’s looking away.]_

**Mara:** _[watches Razz struggle to get at the sugar]_

**Razz:** I need to get up. Why do I put it so high. 

**Mara:** Razz, is it? All right, here you go. Sugar. 

**Razz:** Ah! Thank you dearie. _[kisses her on the cheek like eight times. Mara startles, then relaxes. She’s blushing when Razz pulls away.]_

**LH:** _[appearing beside Mara]_ You cannot let her take things and leave. She could have been exposed to classified data about the Heart of Etheria Project. We need to detain and interrogate her. 

**Mara:** You really think she somehow found information about a project so classified even I don’t know all the details? _[laughing]_ Come on, Hope, look at her. She’s clearly harmless. Besides, we’re here to study this planet’s magic, aren’t we? Who’d know more about Etheria’s magic than the Etherians? 

**LH:** You know I have to report this. It is in my programming. 

**Mara:** Can’t you let it slide? Please, Hope? For me? 

**LH:** _[visibly pained]_ Un… authorized… presence… not… detected. Any reports to the contrary are incorrect. _[smiles down at Mara]_

**Mara:** Thanks, Hope. Couldn’t ask for a better friend! _[nudges her hologram with an elbow and runs away. Hope looks after her, smiling.]_

**LH:** Friend.

* * *

**Mara:** Okay, Razz, promise me you’ll stay away from the ship from now on

**Razz:** _[laughs]_ Sure thing, Adora. See you tomorrow! 

**Mara:** No! You can’t come back tomorrow! And why do you keep calling me Adora? Who’s Adora?? _[time glitches and Adora and Mara’s words come at the same time]_

**Mara & Adora:** Razz, wait— !

**Adora:** _[panting]_ There you are. 

**Razz:** _[turns around; where the ship was a moment ago, there’s only the statue—but now, it’s broken, head missing, in a clearing that’s been seriously encroached on by the Woods]_

**Adora:** It’s a First Ones ruin. I told you Razz was taking me somewhere! 

_[SW and Adora approach the broken statue and study it]_

**Adora:** These marks were made with a sword. _[draws the Sword and compares it to the markings]_ Mara’s sword. She was here. _She_ did this. _[Adora pulls some of the vegetation out of the way—revealing She-Ra’s missing head. The whole head is damaged, but the eyes specifically appear to have been the target of She-Ra’s wrath.]_

**SW:** Wow. Mara did this? She really was crazy. 

_[Adora spies a pile of ancient containers—the boxes of “sugar” that Razz took from the ship.]_

**Razz:** Aha! You found it!

**Adora:** Found what? What does it mean?

**Razz:** Sugar! Now we just need the berries!

_[Razz wanders away, but Adora crawls back to the pile and rummages through it—and finds the crystal Razz took from the control panel on the ship. She pockets it, and leaves the rest]_

* * *

_[Razz hums as she picks berries]_

**Adora:** _[sprinting to catch up]_ Razz— This was left deliberately. Did it belong to Mara?

**Razz:** Oh, yes, dearie, she left it for you! She wants to talk to you. 

**Adora:** What? 

**Razz:** Come on, slowpoke, help an old lady pick some berries. 

**Adora:** Razz—Mara’s gone. She’s _been_ gone for a thousand years. 

**Razz:** Hm? No, that doesn’t sound right. She’s helping me make a pie today. She promised, you know! 

**Adora:** No, _I’m_ helping you make a pie. 

**Razz:** Yes, that’s what I said. 

**Adora:** _[sighs]_ Razz. Why is _today_ the day we have to make a pie? 

**Razz:** _[bonks Adora on the head with the handle of her broom]_ Because today is important! 

**Adora:** But _why_ is it important?

**Razz:** It’s important because… _[time glitches]_ because… Oh! Because I have to duck! _[Razz ducks just barely out of the way of what appears to be a giant rampaging boar. It circles, roars, and prepares to charge again]_

**Mara:** _[running up behind Razz, Sword drawn]_ Watch out! For the honor of Grayskull! _[turns into She-Ra]_

_[Mara and the boar fight for a little bit, and then Mara turns to Razz]_

**Mara:** Razz, run!

**Razz:** Mara, no!

_[While she’s turned away to warn Razz off, the boar has circled again, and this time, when it charges, it hits her square in the back. Mara is thrown across the clearing, near the Sword but not near enough]_

_[the boar charges]_

**Razz:** _[jumps between Mara and the boar, holding up her hands both ways]_ STOP!

_[the boar skids to a halt, backs up]_

**Razz:** _[soothingly, to the boar]_ It’s alright. Nobody here will hurt you.

_[the boar roars again, lifts one foreleg as if to point at Mara. Mara ducks her head, looking guilty. Razz titters at it, and it calms, but is grumbly about it. Once she’s sure it’s calmed enough, Razz backs up and half-turns towards Mara. She grabs one of Mara’s wrists and lifts it towards the boar. Mara’s eyes go wide, but she does as directed. The boar backs up and roars again. But Razz holds Mara’s arm steady, and guides her forward a few steps. The boar does not retreat. Slowly, Razz lets go of Mara’s arm, and backs away, smiling at both of them. Mara looks to Razz. Razz smiles at her and nods for her to proceed.]_

_[Hesitantly, Mara reaches out to rest her hand on the boar’s snout. A golden glow begins at her hand and envelops them. Mara looks shocked, and looks at Razz for direction, but Razz beams at her. Mara smiles, and walks alongside the boar’s massive head, trailing her hand. She looks up into the boar’s massive eyes, and transforms back into herself.]_

**Mara:** Go now. Be at peace. _[the boar bumps its snout into her, and she giggles and hugs it. It lumbers off, and the two of them watch it go]_

_[Razz turns back to the site of the battle—and hangs her head at the destruction Mara’s battle with the boar has left in the forest.]_

**Mara:** Razz? _[Mara turns to follow her, sees her disappointment, and wrings her hands.]_ I’m sorry, I thought it was gonna hurt you, I—

**Razz:** That’s alright, dearie. Come here. _[she grabs Mara’s wrist again and drags her hand down to the ground, placing her palm flat against it]_

**Mara:** W— What are you…? _[a breeze stirs the grass, and then the same golden glow from earlier appears and spreads all around them. Mara gasps, her eyes widening. As she watches, the scars of her battle are—not healed, but overgrown with new growth that springs up and blossoms as they watch.]_

**Mara:** How am I doing this? How is this possible without the Sword? 

**Razz:** _[laughing]_ She-Ra is not a sword! She-Ra is _you_. 

**Mara:** _[gapes]_ Huh?

**Razz:** Etheria chose _you_. 

**Mara:** _[looking around, wide-eyed and smiling]_ But… My people chose me to be She-Ra. I need the sword to control She-Ra’s magic. That’s… what my superiors always told me. 

**Razz:** Ha! She-Ra was here _long_ before your people arrived. You cannot control magic! Magic simply _is_. 

**Mara:** I love Etheria. I love how old and weird and beautiful it is. I’m sworn to protect it as She-Ra, just as I’m sworn to serve my people. But… I know we’re doing something to the planet. The Heart of Etheria Project. I don’t know all the details, but I know it’s big. They say we’re the heroes, but… I don’t know if that’s right. 

**Razz:** She-Ra protects Etheria. Your people made the Sword, but they did not make She-Ra. _[time glitch; Razz startles at the sound of Adora’s voice]_

**Adora:** What _people_? Are you talking about the First Ones? 

**Razz:** _[looks around, the realization rushing in that Mara has not come back yet]_ The Sword… Mara… She said she would come back… She promised. We were going to make the pie. I’ve been waiting for so long. 

**Adora:** Mara. She was here, too, wasn’t she? Everything we’re doing… the berries, the sugar, making the pie… it helps you remember. 

**Razz:** Oh, Mara. You were never supposed to succeed. They made a plan for you! Razz could not do anything to help. I am sorry. 

**Adora:** Then help _me_. Adora, not Mara. 

**Razz:** Adora? Yes! Mara wanted me to warn Adora! There is a great evil at the heart of Etheria, Adora, and it is waking up again! You need to talk to Mara! _[looks at her basket]_ It’s getting late. We have to hurry. We have to put the pie in! 

**Adora:** WHAT??? 

_[Swift Wind neighs incredulously]_

* * *

_[back at Razz's house]_

**Razz:** Not much time, not much time. _[she snaps her fingers and a fire springs up in the fireplace. Adora bursts in, panting]_

**Adora:** Okay. Razz. _[leans heavily on a counter-like surface, trying to catch her breath]_ What did you just say about the evil at the heart of Etheria?

**Razz:** Eh? Doesn’t ring a bell.

**Adora:** _What’s_ at the heart of Etheria? _[Razz sets an egg timer that’s decorated with She-Ra’s sword]_ Light Hope said Mara snapped, but there’s gotta be more to it than that. There was a reason why she broke everything, why she put us in Despondos. She was… _[Adora catches her reflection in the runestone in the hilt of the Sword and trails off for a beat]_ …afraid… of something. Was she afraid of the Sword, somehow? Of being She-Ra?

**Razz:** _[throwing up her hands]_ Oh, no time, there’s no time! 

**Adora:** _Please_ , Razz, you have to remember something! 

**Razz:** Remember, remember. I try to remember but it gets all muddled up. Adora, Mara… It always ends the same. The present, the future… _[time glitches]_

**Mara:** _[from the doorway behind Razz]_ Razz! 

**Razz:** … The past. _[turns]_ Mara, dearie, you’re just in time! The pie is almost— _[she turns back to the pie, but the fireplace is cold. Razz freezes.]_

**Mara:** _[voice tight like she’s in pain]_ I can’t stay long, Razz. 

**Razz:** Nonsense, dearie, we’re making pie today. Or have you forgotten? Ah ah ah. And they say my memory is bad. _[laughs]_

**Mara:** _[places her hand on Razz’s shoulder]_ Razz, listen. I figured out what my people are doing with the Heart of Etheria. What they’ve done to the planet. It’s going to activate soon, there’s no time. I have to get to my ship. _[something groans outside, and Mara shivers]_ It’s starting. 

**Razz:** _[taking Mara’s hand in both of hers]_ But… the pie. 

**Mara:** _[tears streaming down her face, smiling]_ Tomorrow, Razz, we’ll make a pie tomorrow, I promise. _[Razz smiles at that and leans her cheek into Mara’s hand. Her eyes go wide as Mara pulls away. Mara moves to the door, leaning heavily on the frame for support, looking out at whatever is happening there.]_

**Mara:** I can’t stop it. _[she looks at the Sword. It’s jewel has turned purple]_ But I can keep them from hurting anyone else. _[she pushes off the doorframe and into the devastation outside]_

**Razz:** Mara! _[runs out after Mara]_

_[something is happening to the Woods. Some… energy is being sucked out of them, leaving the plant or limb dead and shriveled]_

_[Mara staggers through the Woods, until she reaches a familiar clearing deep inside it. She can’t even lift the Sword, and the tip drags through the ground, scoring a line as she walks. Even the blade begins to glow, now.]_

_[in the clearing, Mara drops to her knees, burying the Sword several inches in the dirt with the weight of her fall. She grabs the hilt with both hands and her eyes go wide as she sees the blade glowing brighter with each passing moment—and_ screams _as a stream of the magical energy being sucked out of the Woods around them passes into the Sword through her. Glyphs inscribe themselves on the ground around her as magic pours into the Sword—and then, on her arms, legs, face, torso—her whole body is covered in them. Light pours from her eyes and mouth.]_

_[when the surge passes, Mara staggers to her feet, eyes a blinding void, glyphs written all over her skin in light. She abandons the Sword there and continues oh foot.]_

_[Razz watches all of it from the edge of the clearing with a look of horror on her face. After Mara leaves, 5-6 new streams of light descend, and pass directly into the runestone of the Sword. A target-scope-like sheen glows darkly from the Sword’s runestone, and it begins to funnel magic directly into the ground, causing _[a kind of grotesque inversion of Mara’s earlier healing of the forest]_.]_

_[time glitches.]_

_[the egg timer dings. Razz smiles.]_

**Razz:** It’s time.

* * *

_[Razz takes the pie out of the oven and wraps it in a towel, and heads out the door]_

**Adora:** _[stirs from where she’s fallen asleep against Swift Wind’s side, under his wing]_ Razz? _[she looks up just in time to see Razz slipping out the door with the pie]_ Razz!

**SW:** _[jolts awake with Adora’s last shout]_ Wha—?

**Adora:** Come on, Swifty. It’s time to go. 

**SW:** _[yawns]_ Where’re we going?

**Adora:** _[standing in the doorway]_ Pie’s done.

* * *

_[Razz runs through the woods with the pie. Time glitches, and we see Razz running through the Woods in Mara’s time, empty-handed, desperately trying to keep up with Mara, staring at the destruction wrought by the Heart. Mara looks back over her shoulder, sees Razz following her, and continues.]_

* * *

_[time glitches again, and Razz emerges from the Woods at the place where Mara boarded her ship on her last flight, carrying the pie. Funny enough, Mara’s ship is there_ now, _too. She boards it, pie in hands.]_

_[Adora emerges from the Woods in time to see her walking up the ramp, and gasps.]_

* * *

_[Inside the ship, Bow is working on fixing the control panel. He pushes out from underneath it—and Madame Razz appears inches from his face]_

**Razz:** You’re not Mara

**Bow:** _[screams and pushes Razz off him, and hits his head hard on the control panel as he’s getting up]_ Ow!

**Adora:** _[trotting in the door next to Swift Wind]_ Madame Razz!

**Razz:** Adora, help me find Mara, you know where she is.

**Bow:** Adora! Who’s that lady?!

**Adora:** _[super loudly]_ It’s okay, it’s just Razz.

**Bow:** Madame Razz?

**Razz:** _[popping up right in front of Bow again, making him flinch]_ Adora! _[moves forward and takes Adora’s hand]_ You need to talk to Mara! You have everything you need. 

**Adora:** I have everything I… _[gasps, and pulls the crystal from the stash out of her pocket. Suddenly excited, she brushes past both Razz and Bow, and starts feeling along the control panels, looking for something]_

**Bow:** … What’re you doing…?

**Adora:** _[comes to a familiar-looking socket and gasps]_ Wait! I know this. _[places the crystal in the socket]_ _She-Ra_. 

_[the computer tones neutrally as if in acknowledgement, and light streams through the panels, bringing the ship to life. As if by magic, a hologram appears behind them—Mara, stumbling towards the control panel, wounded.]_

_[As she works, time glitches, and we see her working at the control panel frantically, already in the air.]_

**Dark Hope:** _[appears behind Mara]_ What are you doing, Mara? You have de- de- destroyed my intraplanetary systems. You are beha— be— behaving erratically. Where is the Sword, Mara? 

**Mara:** The Sword is gone. There’s not going to be a She-Ra anymore. 

**DH:** It is your destiny to be She-Ra. 

**Mara:** She-Ra’s “destiny” was to be part of your machine. But I won’t ever let you use her again. 

**DH:** The Heart of Etheria has been activated. Your mission will be fulfilled. There will be… peace throughout the galaxy. 

**Mara:** _[suddenly livid. She slams her hands down on the control panel.]_ How will destroying worlds bring peace?!

**DH:** You’re trying to di— disable me. It will not work. The Heart of Etheria will achieve its function. As will you. You are She-Ra. This is your destiny. 

**Mara:** You’re not Light Hope. 

**DH:** I am the same basic operating system. 

**Mara:** You’re not _her_. And you don’t get to tell me what my destiny is. _[slams a button on the control panel, dismissing and blocking DH. She turns back to the controls.]_

**Mara:** Activating portal into the dimension of Despondos in three… two… one.

_[the portal activates. In heartbeats, Etheria is gone from the universe.]_

_[time glitches. We’re back in the present.]_

**Mara:** _Adora?_ [Adora and the rest turn to face her]

_[Mara. Standing, not sitting, in the middle of the bridge deck, wounded, bandaged.]_

**Mara:** _I know you’re there. Razz said you’d be there._

**Adora:** Mara? _[Adora approaches the hologram. Mara holds out one hand, and smiles, as if expecting Adora to meet it. Tentatively, Adora reaches out. Just before her fingers brush and disrupt the hologram, though—Mara gasps in pain and folds her arm across her ribs, curling in on herself. She slumps down in the chair.]_

**Mara:** _I don’t have much time, I barely made it out. If you are seeing this, it means you are the new She-Ra. It means I failed. I don’t know what they told you, but it wasn’t all bad at first. We were the first ones to settle Etheria, to really study this planet’s magic. How could it go so wrong? You can’t trust Light Hope. She’s been reprogrammed to set off the weapon at any cost. The weapon…_

**Adora:** _[approaches the chair, hanging on her every word]_ The weapon? What is it?

**Mara:** _I didn’t know what they were doing until too late. I knew they were rerouting Etheria’s magic for their own purposes, siphoning it, collecting it in the planet’s core._

**Adora:** _[horrified]_ The Heart of Etheria. 

**Mara:** [nods] _The Heart of Etheria. It was supposed to be an energy source, capable of so much good. But that’s not what they made. My people turned our planet, all of Etheria, into a weapon._ And She-Ra _is the key._

**Adora:** What?

**Mara:** _I opened a portal to a completely empty dimension and pulled Etheria in. I hid us from the rest of the universe, to keep everyone else safe. This is the one place they’ll never find us. The weapon can’t hurt anyone else here. I saw what they would do, the deaths that would follow… I couldn’t stop them before but I can now. Hiding it our only option._

**Mara:** _Adora, this isn’t over. The Heart of Etheria is still siphoning magic, storing it. It’s unstable. It will tear Etheria apart if it goes off again._

**Adora:** So it’s up to you now. I couldn’t stop it. In the end, I wasn’t strong enough. But you? Adora, you will be more powerful than they ever planned. 

_[in her time, Mara looks through the view port at the ground rushing up to meet her. She hunches in on herself, unable to watch. But she raises her eyes just enough to meet Adora’s and smile through her tears]_

**Mara:** _Adora. I believe in you. You can save the world we love._

_[the recording cuts out]_

**Adora:** The weapon… The weapon is Etheria. And Mara… sacrificed herself to save everyone. 

**Razz:** _[laughing]_ She was brave, my Mara. _[places the pie on the captain’s chair]_ For you, Mara dearie.


	16. S04E10: “Fractures”

**(02:15)** \- [in the War Room, watching a simulation of what will happen if the Heart of Etheria goes off]

**Perfuma:** That's really going to happen? To Etheria? To— to us? 

**Bow:** The heart of Etheria and nearly destroyed everyone in Mara’s time and it's gotten stronger, more volatile over the century. If it goes off now… We have to make sure never goes off again

**Mermista:** _[groans and lays her head on her forearms]_

**Frosta:** So… how do we stop it?

**Shadow Weaver:** Stop it? The real question is how do you intend to use this to your advantage. 

**Adora:** Uh, we’re _not_. You saw the simulation. We have to disable it.

**Shadow Weaver:** And throw away such power? Perhaps the First Ones were fools for storing so much raw energy at the heart of the planet but now it is there. 

**Glimmer:** What if… there was a way to channel that magic ourselves?

**Shadow Weaver:** The princesses are powerful, but with _that_ magic… they would be unstoppable. 

**Glimmer:** We’d be supercharged! We could… take down the Horde!

**Adora:** Are you seriously considering this?? You heard Bow, it's an unstable superweapon. Tampering with it is way too dangerous.

**Glimmer:** Dangerous? Everyday The Horde claims more territory. We're running out of options! So, I say we get Light Hope to tell us how it works and take our power back. 

**Adora:** All she wants him to set the weapon off! Are you even listening to us?!

**Bow:** O-kay, 5 minute break.

* * *

**(09:29)** \- _[out on the balcony, now that Scorpia is restrained]_

**Scorpia:** Again, I am _so_ sorry about the whole singing thing. _[Perfuma laughs nervously and makes a flower blossom over the tip of Scorpia’s very bound tail.]_

**Glimmer:** Alright, Horde soldier, why are you here? _[Scorpia says nothing, looking from her to Shadow Weaver. Glimmer clears her throat to get her attention]_ Are you listening to me??

**Scorpia:** Wow! Yeah, but just— Shadow Weaver! And at Bright Moon! Everything is making so much sense about why Catra’s been acting the way she has! And now I left? Ohhh that's going to do a real number on her… 

**Adora:** _[increasingly uncomfortable after hearing Catra’s name, has had enough and snaps at Scorpia]_ _Hey_! Answer the question!

**Scorpia:** —Right, sorry. The thing is— you all seem really good at friendship. 

**Perfuma** : You're here to learn how to be a good friend? _[Mermista looks at her sideways]_

**Scorpia:** Yes! That's it! See, I thought I was being a good friend to Catra, but it turns out Catra wasn't being a good friend to me, and also that I have no idea what friendship is. Man, I think Entrapta’s the only real friend I've ever had. _[Emily beeps next to her indignantly. Scorpia turns and smiles.]_ And Emily. _[Emily warbles happily]_

**Mermista:** _Say things that make sense._

**Scorpia:** Right. Okay. Entrapta wanted to warn Hordak about the whole, you know, portal weirdness thing, so— Catra sent her to Beast Island and I… I let it happen. And now, I have to save her. 

**Adora:** _[gasps loudly]_ Beast Island?! With the blood beetles? And the trees with razor-sharp blades instead? It’s real?? 

**Shadow Weaver:** Oh, yes, but it’s much worse than that. We told you those children’s stories so you wouldn't be scared.

**Scorpia:** It’s _worse_?! Oh, what have I done???

**Adora:** We can't leave her there!

**Bow:** If we want to safely disable the weapon… Entrapta is our best bet. She’d know more about that than anyone!

**Glimmer:** Wait—!

**Adora:** We need to leave for Beast Island right away, save Entrapta, and shut down the heart of Etheria for good.

**Glimmer:** Hold on—!

**Swift Wind:** I’m in. 

**Glimmer:** No, you’re not— What?

**Scorpia:** Me, too. Obviously, I mean, I brought this to you.

**Adora:** Great, then it's decided. We’re going—

**Glimmer:** WILL EVERYONE JUST STOP FOR ONE SECOND!! _[to Scorpia]_ You aren't going anywhere! You’re our prisoner! _[to Bow and Adora]_ And you! We need to talk about this! _Now._

_[teleports the three of them into the Castle]_

**Glimmer:** Stop it! Stop just trying to barrel ahead with your own plans! We have to talk about this!

**Adora:** What's there to talk about? Entrapta needs our help and we need Entrapta.

**Glimmer:** Adora! Have you ever heard of _anyone_ coming back from Beast Island? Do you even know where it is?

**Adora:** No, but we have to _try._

**Glimmer:** Oh, great plan! The Horde’s on our doorstep and we'll just drop everything and run off on a harebrained rescue mission!

**Bow:** Glimmer, you do want to save Entrapta, right?

**Glimmer:** Of course I do! We’ll save her. But we need to stop The Horde first. I won't risk the whole Alliance for one princess who betrayed us.

**Bow:** There’s an unstable mass of magic in the middle of the planet! Everyone's at risk unless we can get Entrapta to shut it down!

**Glimmer:** _Entrapta_ has a habit of exploding everything she touches. You really want to let her near this thing? Just go to Light Hope and ask her. If we could get some of that stored power back we could use it to defeat The Horde _and_ save Entrapta.

**Adora:** What?! No!! I told you we can't trust her! She betrayed Mara! She lied to me! _She's the bad guy!_

**Glimmer:** The _Horde_ are the bad guys. And you don’t have to tell her everything! Just find out how it works and how to access it!

**Adora:** And if it goes wrong? People could get hurt.

**Glimmer:** Bow, you understand what I'm trying to say. Tell her!

**Bow:** No! You weren't there! We need Entrapta. We need to disable the weapon.

**Glimmer:** Why can’t you trust me in this?

**Bow:** Because you're wrong!

**Glimmer:** You think I’m… wrong? Fine. I am still Queen and as Queen I am ordering you: No one is going to Beast Island. You're not to set foot outside the castle unless I say so. End of discussion.

* * *

**(16:38)** \- _[Bow and Adora are climbing down the side of the castle, sneaking out to the ship]_

**Bow:** I’ve never lied to glimmer before. I mean it's not _lying_ -lying— I left a note. Three, actually, but still.

**Adora:** We're doing the right thing. We can’t let what happened in Mara’s time ever happen again. And Glimmer’s gonna be angry at us, but at least she’ll be around to be angry.

**Bow:** D’you think I should leave another note?

**Adora:** Uh, Bow, we’re kinda sneaking out here. D’you think you could keep it down a little?

**Bow:** Sorry.

**Swift Wind:** HEY ADORA! I kicked open the last barn door I could and I am now ready to go!

**Bow & Adora:** _[frantic shushing]_

**Adora:** Swifty, you gotta keep it down.

**Frosta:** _[opens the doors to the balcony they’re on, grumbling and rubbing her eyes]_ What’s happening?

**Bow:** Uh… you're asleep? Yeah, you're asleep! This is a dream. A _~dream~_.

**Swift Wind:** Ah, yes, the _~flying unicorn dream~_. Classic!

**Frosta:** I know what you're doing. And you better hurry.

**Adora:** You're— you’re not going to stop us?

**Frosta:** I didn't join the princess Alliance just to fight. I joined to save people. And the Horde, even after everything they did… they're people. Just like us. I'll cover for you. But you have to go now. Everyone will be up soon.


	17. S04E11: "Beast Island:

**(11:22)** \- _[walking through Beast Island with Micah to find Entrapta]_

**Micah:** So you’re telling me that horses are now allowed in the War Room, and they all get chairs?

**Swift Wind:** Big important chairs, yep. And also unlimited sugar cubes. 

**Micah:** Eh, sounds good to me. 

**Micah:** _[catches a bug. Proceeds to gross out Swift Wind with it, then eat it himself]_

**Adora:** I can’t believe Glimmer’s dad’s been alive this whole time. And he’s so _cool_. _[Micah pops the entire bug in his mouth at this moment, and Bow looks nauseated]_ A little weird, but I guess that’s to be expected after all this time alone. 

**Bow:** Glimmer will be so happy to see her dad again. She’ll have to forgive us for going against her orders, escaping Bright Moon, and taking Mara’s ship! … Not that we technically did anything wrong, or need to be forgiven. I mean, Glimmer kept us in the dark. The truth is, she hasn’t been a very good friend. But have we been? Can you even have a fight with a best friend and still be best friends?? And don’t get me started on Shadow Weaver! ... Are you okay? 

**Adora:** Yeah, it’s just— why can’t I be She-Ra here? What if something on this island infected the sword, or what if Glimmer is right and all I do is ruin everything? I just feel… useless. 

**Bow:** Hey, you aren’t useless. We’ll figure this out. You’re still a hero, I’m still a tech master, Swift Wind’s still— 

**Swift Wind:** _[almost takes a bite out of something that looks like moss—until it abruptly stands up and crawls away from Swift Wind’s open mouth. Swift Wind shrieks]_ That’s not food!!

**Bow:** —He’s still a horse. But now we’ve got cool sorcerer dad helping us! 

**Adora:** [smiles] You’re right.


	18. S04E12: “Destiny, Part I”

**(09:02)** \- _[Entrapta has brought Micah, Bow, Swift Wind, and Adora to the temple at the center of Beast Island.]_

_[Entrapta leads the way, well in front of the rest. She turns and waves at the other four, laughing]_

_[As they walk forward, Micah and Swift Wind wince hard as the signal washes over them again.]_

**Swift Wind:** I don’t like it here. The signal, it’s— getting louder again! I think we should go. 

**Micah:** The talking horse is right. We should stay away. No one ever comes back from this part of the island. 

**Entrapta:** Don’t worry about the signal. It’s better inside. _[she stops in front of an apparent wall, covered by a sheet of what appears to be some kind of plant matter?]_

**Bow:** Inside _where_?! _[Bow exclaims as Entrapta jumps into the plant matter and disappears from view. Her outline can be clearly seen through the matter as she searches for something on the wall]_

**Entrapta:** … Somewhere… _[she appears back out of the plant matter, exclaims]_ A-ha! _[she pulls the plant matter aside with her hair, revealing a long, faintly pyramidal access tunnel.]_ Ta-da!

_[Everyone stares. It’s murky, creepy, dingy. Entrapta pops up behind them]_

**Entrapta:** Come on! You’re gonna love it. _[she guides them inside]_

* * *

**(09:48)** \- _[inside the obelisk]_

**Swift Wind:** Wow, this place is terrible! I hate it! 

**Adora:** It’s… a First Ones temple!

**Entrapta:** Isn’t it amazing?? The First Ones tried to hide their secrets by dumping them on Beast Island. The answers I’ve been looking for… _[she turns to face them again. There’s tears in her eyes]_ They’re all here. _[Adora and Bow look at each other, bewildered.]_

_[Entrapta turns some dials on the central control panel; the terminal powers up, glowing blue. Images appear in midair—not unlike Light Hope’s memory panels. Bow and Adora back towards each other, then jump apart again as the central screen powers up and comes alive.]_

**Entrapta:** My theories were correct. I knew the First Ones had retrofitted the planet with tech, I just didn’t know why. But it all makes sense now. They were mining the planet’s magic, using it to power their weapon—the Heart of Etheria. _[pops up in front of Adora]_ But of course you know all about the Heart of Etheria already, seeing as you’re a part of it!

**Adora:** Wait, wait, hang on— _what_? I’m a part of it? 

**Entrapta:** All the Princesses are! Hang on, I’ll show you. The Heart draws its power from the magic of the Princesses. It needs all their runestones engaged for it to work. And _She-Ra_ is the most important piece, the key. She channels the weapon’s power and focuses it. 

**Adora:** What? 

_[an image pops up on one of the “screens” floating in the air: Mara, standing with her hands clasped in front of her in a large-looking, open room, with two figures wearing hooded, indigo-colored robes. One of the figures hands Mara the Sword of protection, placing it across her hands. Next, Mara’s pictured holding the Sword upright in both hands. As she does so, the glyphs like the ones shown in “Hero” start to write themselves into her skin, starting from her hands and climbing up to her face. When it finally reaches her face, she screams—her eyes turn white with energy and light pours from her open mouth]_

**Entrapta:** She-Ra is the only being strong enough to withstand the destructive energy of the Heart. So the First Ones made the Sword to control her, to use her. When the Heart is deployed, She-Ra will raise the Sword and fire it! 

**Adora:** She-Ra is… is… the key. That means I can stop it, right? If She-Ra fires the weapon then I just won’t do it! Please, Entrapta, tell me I can stop it. 

**Entrapta:** Once the planet is balanced, no one can stop it. Not even the First Ones could control it. That’s why they left. When the weapon is activated, it will channel all its power into you. You don’t get to refuse. 

_[Adora pushes past her to the memories on repeat: Etheria spinning, the deadly energy of the Heart glowing at its core, Mara receiving the Sword, Light Hope]_

**Bow:** But… Etheria isn’t balanced yet. Look. There’s still one runestone offline. We might still have a chance. Wait. The Black Garnet. Scorpia. 

**Adora:** Scorpia’s with the Rebellion. You don’t think Glimmer would… ?

**Bow:** There’s no way she could know that Scorpia’s the final piece, right? 

**Adora:** We have to get back to Bright Moon.


	19. S04E13: “Destiny, Part II”

**(05:36)** \- _[Scorpia connects with the Black Garnet, balancing the planet and bringing the Heart fully online]_

_[in the Crystal Castle, Light Hope is waiting. The image of the Garnet glows, indicating it’s been brought online. With one gesture, Light Hope pushes it over to join the others. The runestones begin to glow, moving to hover in a disc around a 3D image of the planet with the Heart at its center. A line of light appears, connecting them to the Heart]_

**Light Hope:** Planet balanced. Full functionality restored. 

_[outside, Adora is running up to the Castle. She’s stopped stone-cold as her whole body begins to glow.]_

**Adora:** Oh, no. 

_[In each of their settings, the runestones begin to glow]_

_[Mermista is fighting ships near Salineas. The bolt of light strikes her, too, and she’s swathed in blue flame. She turns to look at Sea Hawk. He has literal hearts in his eyes.]_

_[Perfuma and Frosta are fighting back-to-back in the Whispering Woods. They look at each other, grin—and are wreathed in green and blue flame, respectively. They look at each other, and then renew their attack.]_

* * *

**(09:53)** \- _[The Crystal Castle]_

_[Light Hope lifts a representation of the Sword, settling it over the top of the balanced planet, point down directly over the Heart. Adora runs into the room.]_

**Adora:** Light Hope, please, don’t do this. 

**Light Hope:** Good, you are here. Now we can begin. After a thousand years, my programming will be fulfilled. The Heart of Etheria will be unleashed against the First Ones’ enemies. _[Light Hope lifts one hand. As she does, the familiar glyphs appear, starting on the blade of the Sword and crawling up Adora’s arms. Almost comically, Adora struggles to keep the Sword down as she talks.]_

**Adora:** No, there are no First Ones anymore. Whatever war they were fighting is long over. 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches slightly]_ The First Ones will rise again. You are a descendent of their mighty empire. _[glitches]_ That is why I used all my strength to reach across the universe to find you, and bring you here. 

**Adora:** You told me Hordak brought me through the portal. You told me he stole me. But it was you all along. _All_ of this is because of _you_ _[with a shout, Adora finds the strength to reverse the direction of the Sword so that the point is aimed downward. She brings it down, falling to one knee as she does so—driving the Sword into the crystal of the walkway. She glares up at Light Hope]_

**Light Hope:** This is your intended function. You will bring the First Ones to glory. It is what you were born to do. 

**Adora:** _[Light Hope glitches]_ No. No, I won’t! 

**Light Hope:** The Heart of Etheria has been activated. You will be the one to fire it. There is no stopping it now. 

_[the glyphs reach Adora’s face. She screams.]_

* * *

**(11:03)** \- _[the Fright Zone]_

_[Glimmer teleports onto the scene of Catra and Hordak’s fight. On hearing a sound, she whips around—and sees Catra, sitting up against a pile of rubble. She points her staff at her. When Catra doesn’t move, she turns her head to look at the sounds coming from behind her. It’s Hordak, lying beneath a separate pile of rubble]_

**Glimmer:** Guess you wanted all my attention for yourself. _[points her staff back at Catra]_ Your troops are gone. You’re all alone. You’ve lost. _[her staff begins to glow as she charges it]_

**Catra:** What are you waiting for? Do it. _[the staff loses brightness. This isn’t the response Glimmer expected.]_ Looks like we’re both alone, Sparkles. 

_[an ominous rumbling sounds. Glimmer’s eyes go wide. She drops her staff and clutches at her own arms, crying out in pain. Glyphs write themselves into her skin; the same or similar to the ones that appeared on Adora and Mara.]_

_[the light that shone bright in each of the runestones dims, even darker than they were before they’d connected to the Heart. Circuit-like lines appear on the surface of them.]_

_[outside, the same rainbow-colored magic that bled from the surface of Etheria in Mara’s time does so again]_

_[one by one, the Princesses are overcome by the Heart, glyphs appearing on their skin, magic rising from their bodies like steam or smoke into the sky—]_

_[gathering at the Crystal Castle.]_

* * *

**(12:37)** \- _[the Crystal Castle]_

_[as Adora kneels on the floor of the Castle, struggling to keep the Sword buried in the ground, the magic streaming from the ground of Etheria pierces the top of the Castle, streaming down until it makes contact with the blade of the Sword. All the magic is being drawn into it.]_

**Adora:** _[struggling]_ It won’t work! Mara hid us in Despondos so you couldn’t hurt anyone else! 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches, eyes widening]_ Mara. _[glitches, eyes hardening]_ Mara’s interference caused a significant delay. But no longer. With the planet balanced, portal capability is restored. _[gesturing at the image of the Heart. A beam of light starts from the edge of the image of the Sword and lances into the Heart]_ Initiate planetary move out of the dimension of Despondos. _[the runestone in the hilt of the actual Sword begins to glow. Adora’s eyes widen. Then, she screams, light streaming from her eyes and mouth.]_

* * *

**(13:18)** \- _[Bow and Entrapta are flying on Swift Wind over the Waste between Bright Moon and the Fright Zone]_

_[Abruptly, Swift Wind cries out and falls from the air]_

**Bow:** Swift Wind! Are you okay? 

**Swift Wind:** I don’t know, it’s… too much… _[they all grunt as something shakes the ground]_

**Bow:** What the—

_[a curtain of light appears on the horizon, bright and streaming, until it fills the whole sky, enclosing Etheria and all its moons]_

**Bow:** Entrapta, what’s happening?!

**Entrapta:** It’s a portal! A _big_ portal. With the planet balanced, portal capabilities must be back online. We’re getting pulled through! 

**Bow:** Through to _where_? 

**Entrapta:** It’s…

**Bow:** Stars.

**Entrapta:** We’re not in Despondos anymore. We’re in the wider universe. 

**Bow:** _[wincing as the Heart causes another tremor through the planet]_ I need to find Glimmer.

* * *

**(14:16)** \- _[the Fright Zone]_

_[Glimmer falls to her knees and curls up on herself]_

**Glimmer:** Adora was right. Light Hope… used me. She activated… the Heart. 

**Catra:** So? I thought you _wanted_ to win. Use your weapon. 

**Glimmer:** I can’t! It would destroy… everything. I have to try and stop it. _[painfully, she gets up, dismissing her staff, and stumbles into the remains of the Black Garnet chamber. Catra follows her, looking almost disgusted. She begins to fire bursts of energy at it, to no effect.]_

* * *

**(14:57)** \- _[The Crystal Castle]_

**Light Hope:** The Heart is primed and ready. Commencing activation. 

**Adora:** Look at all these stars! These worlds! They will all be destroyed. Mara sacrificed her life to stop this from happening. 

**Light Hope:** _[glitches]_ Mara. Mara would not want me to— _[glitches, eyes hardening]_ Mara was a traitor. She turned against her people. 

**Adora:** Mara was your _friend_. She knew you were more than just a program. And so do I. You can stop this. 

**Light Hope:** _[eyes widening]_ I am not as strong as Mara. I cannot change my programming. _[she lowers her head, glitching]_ This is our destiny. _[her eyes harden, and she turns, raising her hand. The runestone in the Sword’s hilt turns that poisoned purple color and begins to rise on its own. Adora struggles to keep it in the ground.]_

**Adora:** _No_. This is not _my_ destiny. 

**Light Hope:** _[eyes narrowing, she glitches, then gestures again, more emphatically]_ You will comply. 

**Adora:** _[struggles]_ No, no, no. _[the Sword pulls itself upright, taking her with it]_

_[the Princesses all collapse, hanging onto each other as the draw from the Heart grows stronger]_

_[the magic flowing from them streams into the Castle—and into the runestone in the hilt of the Sword]_

_[the Heart is ready.]_

**Light Hope:** _[glitches]_ It is time. 

**Adora:** I won’t be controlled. I am not a piece of their machine. I am not a weapon. And I’m going to end this now. _[she pulls the Sword down, impossibly]_

**Light Hope:** No. Stop. _[Adora continues to strain, sending an almost concussive wash of magic through the room, originating from herself.]_ Don’t. _[glitches]_ Do it. _[Light Hope closes her eyes and pulls inward on herself.]_

_[Images of stars begin to plummet inward toward the Sword]_

**Light Hope:** Do it. Don’t. _[her eyes widen. In her mind, a memory plays: Mara, a thousand years ago, smiling at her with flowers in her hands]_ _Don’t._ _[Outside her memory, Light Hope’s face is screwed up in agony]_

_[Another flash: Mara, turning towards her in the field of holographic flowers Light Hope has just created for her, delighted. Mara, laughing. Mara.]_

_[Light Hope’s eyes open wide. Her hand drops.]_

**Light Hope:** [ _almost softly]_ Do it. 

_[Adora inverts the Sword in midair and brings it down with all the force she can muster. The blade cracks—and then flies apart, the gathered magic blasting through the room.]_

_[everything goes dark.]_

* * *

**(17:18)** \- _[The Crystal Castle]_

_[Adora opens her eyes. She’s herself again. Her hair is down. Flickers of holographic light glitter everywhere like shrapnel. In front of her, the Sword is broken. The Castle has gone entirely dark and quiet around her. She rubs her head.]_

**Light Hope:** _[places one hand on Adora’s shoulder]_ Adora? 

_[Adora looks, shocked. Light Hope is kneeling in front of her. Her voice is gentle in a way Adora’s never heard it before. Pieces of her seem to be trailing away into holographic static, and her image is blurred and distorted]_

**Light Hope:** _[closing her eyes]_ Thank you. 

_[Light Hope dissolves into a vanishing cloud of pixels]_

_[Adora looks down at the broken Sword in front of her in the darkness.]_


End file.
